Turn Left
by Hallawe
Summary: A "What if…" story about how the Battle of Manhattan could have gone differently and what must be done to put things right.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** The characters and story of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" are not created or owned by me. This is an unlicensed fan fiction. A great deal of coffee was harmed in the making of this story.

Thanks to all my readers who reviewed my last story. I really enjoyed reading your comments.

This story is basically an alternate universe story. Even though it is based in the regular story, I diverge from the established storyline considerably. This is only my second fan fiction but I am excited about it. I wrote the prologue months ago, right about the time I finished my first fan fiction and then life got busy. Now I am taking up pen (metaphorically speaking) once more and will hopefully finish this story. One thing I should note, I have not started reading the "Heroes of Olympus" series yet so if I write anything that contradicts that, just ignore it. I think, given the nature of this story, that it should not be a problem, though.

The prologue was inspired by an episode of "Doctor Who," one of my favourite television shows, titled "Turn Left" (thus, the title of this story). I have the story about half-way finished (I think it is about half-way, at any rate, since I am actually not yet sure how the story is going to end!) but I do not like putting up chapters as soon as I finish them because they tend to change a great deal by the time I get to the end of the story. But I think I have enough of the story locked in now that it is safe to post some of the first chapters. Should be interesting!

Enjoy!

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**Prologue**

**One Year After the Battle of Manhattan:**

Annabeth savoured the cool of the evening as she wandered through the woods. The last rays of the setting sun fell gently through the trees lending a heavenly quality to the surroundings. The great peak of Olympus rose high above, soaring into the clouds. The sight of Olympus was both depressing and hopeful. It was almost bare, only a few of the old buildings and temples from the once-great city remained. It had taken a year to clean up the destruction Kronos had wrought on the mountain, sifting through every bit of rubble for anything that should be saved or repurposed. But now it was done. It was time to start rebuilding. Annabeth stopped and perched on a boulder, closing her eyes as the breeze stirred her long blonde curls, and she sighed. She missed Percy. Their schedules had kept them apart far more than she liked lately.

"Inspiring, isn't it?"

Annabeth jumped in surprise at the unexpected voice from beside her. She turned and found a small, hairy creature sitting on the ground next to her. The small thing stood up, revealing that at its full height it was barely two feet tall, and smoothed its glossy black fur with hands possessed of fingers so short and stubby they almost looked like paws. It was pudgy and shaped rather like it preferred to go on all fours than on two legs. It touched the brim of its bowler hat (a bowler!) and nodded its head in a gesture of deferment. "Sorry," he said (it sounded like a 'he' at any rate), "didn't mean to startle you."

Annabeth stared at the little creature. Then she realized that he was waiting for her reply. "That's fine…um…I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"Names are such boring things," he replied with a dismissive wave of a hand, "So limiting. Once you know someone's name that's all they will ever be to you for the rest of time. Before you know their name, they could be anyone, anything. Life is much more interesting without names."

Annabeth arched an eyebrow at the funny little thing. "Interesting, perhaps, but rather confusing."

The creature smiled which made its nose crinkle. "But confusion is interesting, too."

Annabeth laughed. Even though his sudden appearance had startled her, there was something about this fellow that put her at ease. "I suppose it is. Is that what you do in life? Go around nameless and confused, enjoying the sights?"

"You could say that."

"Do you ever give a straight answer to a question?"

"Only under certain circumstances," he replied with a vague wave of his hand.

The two of them were silent for a moment, enjoying the evening. "Yes, it is," said Annabeth. Now the creature looked quizzically at her. "Mount Olympus," she said nodding toward the distant peak. "You said it was inspiring." The creature nodded his head in understanding. "And when we finish rebuilding it, it will be even better." There was no visible change in the small, furry fellow beside her but Annabeth thought she could feel disapproval from him.

The creature was silent for a moment longer before he said, "You've already cleaned up all the mess from the mountain. Now you're going to make it even more orderly?" He seemed to be talking to himself more than her so Annabeth said nothing. He shook his head gently, "A pity."

Annabeth turned to him in surprise. "A pity?" She was almost angry. "We are going to build something great, something that will last for millennia!"

"Yes," the creature mused, "it will last for millennia. Thousands of years without changing. Everything always the same…forever. How boring." Annabeth was about to make a retort when he said something that brought her up short. "Now Kronos, he would have been something." The creature looked Annabeth in the eyes and she saw cold malice that made her blood run cold. "Kronos would have been _interesting_."

Annabeth began to back away. "I think I should get back to Olympus," she said. She hastily turned back toward the mountain she had come from but before she could get away the creature jumped up and grabbed her arm pulling her back. Despite his comically small hands, he had a grip like a vice.

"Oh, I think not, Annabeth Chase." His features contorted in a sinister sneer. "I waited six thousand years for something interesting to happen. The rise of Kronos would have wrought unimaginable chaos, I could have fed off that for generations to come but you and your little boyfriend had to go and ruin it!"

Annabeth began to feel faint. She looked down at her arm and saw blood seeping from underneath the creature's hand. He had not scratched her, how could she be bleeding? A dark discolouration began to seep up her arm toward her shoulder. "What are you doing to me?" she cried out.

"Me?" the creature laughed, "I'm not doing anything. Just rolling back history a little bit."

Annabeth realized he was gripping her arm right where Ethan Nakamura had stabbed her with his poisoned dagger during the Battle of Manhattan. Somehow the creature had reopened the wound. Her blood began to drip onto the ground below. "But…how…?" Annabeth's vision began to go black at the edges. Her voice barely came out as a whisper, "H-h-help." She looked up at Mount Olympus but no help was coming. She collapsed as her vision narrowed to a pinpoint and then faded entirely.

- x - x - x - x - x -

Annabeth suddenly found herself on a battlefield in the middle of a battle. She shook her head to clear it as she sliced open a hellhound bent on her destruction. She had been…on Olympus? A year after the Battle of Manhattan? That was ridiculous. She was fighting alongside Percy for control of Manhattan right now. _Get your head in the game, smart girl_, she told herself. _Get distracted now and you die. _She parried a blow from an enemy demigod and risked a quick glance at Percy to her right. He was handling a greater number of enemies than she would have thought possible. More than she could have handled by herself. Then she saw one lone warrior coming up from behind. She recognized him from the eye patch under his helm. It was Ethan Nakamura and Percy did not see him at all. She had to stop Ethan before he got to Percy. Annabeth turned to her right…

"**No...turn left.**"

The voice tore through Annabeth's mind like a sledgehammer. She stopped reeling slightly from the immense power of the voice in her head. Ethan was still a ways from Percy. Annabeth tried once more to move to intercept him-

"**Turn left.**"

Annabeth felt dizzy. What was happening to her? She took another step to the right…

"**TURN LEFT!**"

Before her mind had a chance to register what was happening, her feet took her left—away from Percy. She had barely gone two steps when she heard Percy cry out and her blood went cold. Percy was crumpled on his knees screaming in agony with a dagger buried in the small of his back. His cries tore at her heart. Annabeth felt tears running down her face. That seaweed brain could NOT die before she'd told him how she felt about him. He just couldn't.

All of the enemies Percy had been fighting had pulled back for a moment, seemingly in shock at his sudden defeat. But they quickly recovered and moved in to make sure of the kill. Annabeth ran to Percy, not sure what she planned to do but she would NOT let them take him from her. Before anybody could get to him, Percy was wrenched upright as though by a muscle spasm. Annabeth could see pain and terror written all over his face. Percy's head was wrenched back by another spasm and he cried out one last time as his body burned with golden fury. And then he was gone. His sword fell to the ground, clattered once, and turned into a small ballpoint pen.

Annabeth picked up the pen and took off the cap but it remained a pen. She did not have the power to turn it back to a sword. She gritted her teeth through her tears. "Cursed blade, indeed," she muttered. Annabeth screamed with rage and launched herself into the crowd of monsters and demigods.

Some time later (Hours? Days? Annabeth wasn't sure anymore) Annabeth huddled behind an overturned car with a few other half-bloods. She and a handful of half-bloods had managed to escape after Percy died but ever since then the war had become a nightmare. Thalia and the hunters of Artemis were missing in action. Annabeth hoped they had made it into hiding. Half-bloods were cowering wherever they could find shelter all throughout the city while Kronos' army hunted them down like animals. Annabeth dared a look around the car. There were no troops on the street. They had not seen any enemy soldiers in…time seemed meaningless, it was hard to tell. Everything seemed meaningless since Percy had died.

A commotion from far away caught Annabeth's attention. Unsure what she was hearing, Annabeth strained to see what was going on when golden light caught her attention. A golden light, like a beacon was shining from…oh gods, it was shining from _above _the Empire State Building. Annabeth felt a strange energy humming in the air. She realized she did not just feel it, she could hear it. A low thrum, slowly building in power and intensity. As it grew louder, the Empire State Building began to tremble. Annabeth watched in horror as it began to crumble from the top down. A great beam of golden light shot down from above and the building was demolished in the space of a heartbeat.

Kronos was risen. The Titans had overthrown the gods.


	2. Chapter 1: Alive in The House

When you read this chapter, you may be inclined to say that this story really ought to be classed as a crossover fic, not a regular fan fic. I do not want to give too much away at the beginning but I will say that I think there are two very good reasons why it is _not_ a crossover fic. I will explain in more detail later.

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**Chapter 1 – Alive in The House**

I woke up gasping for breath. I was not sure why I had woken up but I had…felt something. Something hurt me. It took a few seconds to register that I couldn't see. Panic welled up in me. Had I gone blind? I blinked my eyes experimentally to make sure they were open but all I could see was an orange glow shot through with sparks and flashes that I suspected were in my head, not real. Even that hurt my eyes so I shut them again. I gasped as another spasm of pain shot through the small of my back. So that was what had woken me up. How long had I been asleep? I did not what the date was but I could somehow sense that I had been asleep far longer than a human should ever sleep.

I heard something move. I opened my eyes but still couldn't see anything other than the harsh, hurtful orange. "Who's there?" I tried to shout, but my voice wasn't working. All that came out was a hoarse rasp that grated at my throat. I instantly regretted trying to talk. I felt a hand placed on my forehead and I reached up to grab at it. I let go in surprise as soon as I grabbed it. It was furry!

"Agh," replied the owner of the hand. It sounded like an animal grunting. The owner of the hand put a damp cloth on my forehead. "Agh-Agh." He patted my shoulder and I could hear him walk away. Now I was very confused, and more than a little afraid. Where was I? WHEN was I? Was I a captive? Probably not since whomever the owner of the hand was seemed to be taking care of me. My brain felt all fuzzy. I heard footsteps returning to me, it sounded like more than one person. "Agh!" So the furry hand had come back. Then, another voice, a man's voice that was deep, warm, and friendly. The furry hand had brought someone with him.

"Ah, so you are awake. How do you feel?" I tried to answer but my throat hurt too much to speak. I coughed. "It's all right," said the new speaker, "your voice will return in time." I opened my eyes and winced at the pain of the orange but I thought, I almost thought I could see a shape. A shadow, darker than the rest of the orange, seemed to be leaning over me. "Khufu," he said in a gently admonishing tone, "Khufu, his eyes haven't been exposed to light in over two years. Why didn't you do anything about the light?" Did he say TWO YEARS!

"Agh," replied the owner of the furry arm. I could have sworn that that grunt sounded indignant.

"_Serft ahth_," said the new speaker and the orange was blasted through with bright, shining blue. I cried out in pain. The blue hurt even more than the orange had. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, I should have warned you. It's all right; you can open your eyes now." The orange had faded to near black and I could make out tiny points of light…torches, I realized. The flame on each torch was nearly out, just barely sputtering. With the light reduced I couldn't see much in the way of details but at least I could see. I could see enough to tell I was lying on a bed in a room lined by pillars and lit, as I mentioned, with torches.

I could not see the face of the man speaking to me but he had long hair pulled back in dozens of tiny braids and, even though he was kneeling, he seemed like quite an imposing figure. I looked for the thing that had furry arms and kept grunting. Behind the man was something hunched over and hairy. The man saw me looking and said, "That's Khufu. He has been tending you since you came here. And, yes, he is a baboon."

"Agh," Khufu added matter-of-factly.

"I'm getting to that," the man said. Could he understand the baboon? "My name is Amos Kane and you are in the _Per Ankh_, the House of Life. Actually, it's the Twenty-first Nome of the House of Life, to be precise. You are safe here." I tried once more to speak with no better luck than last time. "Shhh," he quieted me. "Khufu," he turned to the baboon, "fetch some water for the young demigod, please." Turning back to me, he removed the cloth from my forehead and felt the skin underneath with the back of his hand. "The worst of your fever seems to be past." Khufu returned holding a cup. Amos helped me sit up, putting some pillows behind my back, and held the cup to my mouth. Until the water passed my lips I had not realized how thirsty I was. I greedily drank the water until it was gone.

I tried my voice one more time. I managed to whisper a weak, "Thank you."

Amos handed the cup back to Khufu who left, presumably to refill it. "I know you must be bursting with questions but now is not the time. If you strain your voice too much right now it will take even longer to recover. You have been…well, I guess you could say you have been in a sort of limbo for a very long time. Your body needs time to restore itself; you need to sleep." I must have looked as sceptical as I felt because Amos chuckled. "I know, I know, you just woke up; but that was more of a coma than real sleep. Right now, you need some sleep. I promise you, a night of sleep will do you a world of good. Besides, you don't know this but it is actually quite late and I wish to get to bed myself."

Amos held a hand over me and quietly said, "_Hah-ri." _A few blue symbols, still indistinct to my eyes, glowed briefly in the air and I felt my eyelids begin to droop. Amos pulled the covers up around me like my mom used to when she would tuck me in bed. "In the morning, Perseus, we will speak further."

- x - x - x - x - x -

If you know anything about demigods, you probably know that sleep is never just sleep for us. Especially in times of trouble we always dream in visions. Sometimes the visions help us; sometimes they are sent from our enemies; sometimes we never know what the visions mean until they come to pass, but we always dream. Tonight was no exception.

I saw a great field of battle from high above, like I was a bird looking down on the terrible scene. It took me a moment but I recognized it. This was not just a dream. I was reliving the fight against the armies of Kronos in Manhattan. As the battle unfolded before me I remembered more and more, but I could not remember how it had ended. Finally, I saw myself. It was just after I had taken on the curse of Achilles and I was still getting used to my newfound fighting skills. I ran from one trouble spot to another, clearing the field of Kronos' men.

Our forces seemed to have won the day. We held our line and some scattered monsters and troops were retreating to their comrades. Then Kronos revealed himself. He was leading a small group of troops that absorbed the retreaters into their ranks. Our fighters stopped, unsure of what to do. Kronos and his men charged at our fighters and I ordered all of our men back, confident that I could hold Kronos' force at bay long enough to cover their retreat. I could hardly see myself in the fray but I seemed to be doing well. My dream's-eye-view was much closer to the battle now. A small gap cleared in Kronos' ranks and my dream self could see that I was not fighting alone. Annabeth refused to retreat, fighting alongside me.

Annabeth…

My dream self began to feel uneasy. I tried to cry out, tried to tell Annabeth to leave but she could not hear me. I knew—somehow, someway—I knew that I had to get Annabeth out of there. She paused for a moment, just a second but I could tell something was wrong. She took a step toward me and stopped, shaking her head. Then she turned and began to move away from me. But Annabeth was not the one who was in danger.

Just as Annabeth left my side, my dream self saw one of Kronos' demigods plunge his dagger into my back—right into my Achilles spot. I crumpled to my knees and Annabeth ran back to me. I watched myself die, helpless and unable to do anything. It was agony to see the look on Annabeth's face as I dissolved into nothingness. As I watched my body disintegrate my vision went black and then I was awake. I lay in the bed, unsure what time it was, pondering my dream. I was sure that it was a memory but that couldn't have happened! I was alive right now…how could this be real? But I knew that this was what had happened to me during the fight against Kronos.

Blessedly, I fell back into a dream-free sleep for the rest of the night.

- x - x - x - x - x -

"Agh?"

My eyes snapped open and this time I could see the face of the baboon staring back at me. He handed me a glass of water and I drank it slowly, taking in the room. There was daylight coming in through a window and even though it still seemed awfully bright I could at least see again. What I had taken to be pillars last night was actually statuary of strange-looking creatures that I recognized as Egyptian in origin. I looked at Khufu who was, indeed, a baboon wearing a Lakers jersey of all things. When I finished the glass, Khufu took it from me. "Thank you, Khufu," I said. My throat was still sore but my voice sounded better, but a bit odd. It seemed to be deeper than I remembered it being.

I began to try out my newly recovered voice. "My name is Percy Jackson. I am from New York. I like blue food."

"Agh," Khufu said encouragingly.

I started to list names of people I knew. "Poseidon. Paul Blofis. Sally Jackson. Grover Underwood. Chiron. Annab-" I stopped short at Annabeth's name. I had no idea if she had survived after I died, or whatever I saw happen last night. I had to believe she was still alive. I couldn't think about the alternative. "Khufu, I need to speak to Amos now. Where can I find him?" Khufu said nothing but walked to the door and looked back at me. Clearly, I was supposed to follow. I got out of bed and found that I was wearing loose-fitting linen clothes that had a definite eastern feel to them.

I padded after Khufu in my bare feet. My legs felt weak and my knees were wobbly as he led me out, down a hallway, and into a room with food set out on a side table. The whole house had a definite Egyptian motif to it. Khufu indicated the food and left. Hopefully he was getting Amos but at the site of food my stomach growled so I decided that breakfast couldn't hurt in the mean time. I grabbed some bacon and eggs and sat down to eat.

When Amos walked in, I stared intently at my food to keep from staring at him. He was a character. He was wearing a black suit with bold gold pinstripes accompanied by a black fedora. He could have stepped right out of a 1920s gangster movie if not for the dreadlocks with gold and gemstones braided in them. I was right in my earlier assessment of his size. He was tall and built like a burly security guard. I would not have wanted to be on the other end of a fight with this guy.

"Good morning, Perseus," he boomed in a deep bass voice. "Glad to see you up and about."

"Yes," I answered, "about that…"

"You must be wondering how you came to be here."

"I'm wondering a lot of things but, sure, we can start with that."

Amos chuckled. "Well, your mind does not seem to have suffered for your long sleep; that is excellent." He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "Where does one begin?" he mused. I decided to give him a little prompt.

I watched his face carefully for a reaction when I said, "How about starting with my death?"

He seemed surprised when I said that. He looked at me and his face got serious when he realized I was not joking. "You remember that, then. I wondered how much you remembered."

"Not much," I admitted. "I…well, I remembered more while I slept last night."

Amos nodded. "I thought you might. I should start by correcting you. You did not, in fact, die."

"But I was stabbed in my Achilles spot," I said. "I mean, it was a mortal wound."

"Yes," Amos agreed, "it would have been." It occurred to me that I should have been surprised that Amos knew what I meant by 'Achilles spot.' "Fortunately with some help from the House I was able to transport you here just before your death. I have been keeping you suspended, in stasis you could say, as I told you last night. Now, before you get angry with me let me be clear that that coma saved your life. You had seconds left to live. By freezing you when I did, I was able to slowly heal the wound and bring you back from the brink of death. It took several months just to remove the dagger from your back." He drew a knife from inside his suit and held it up for me to see. "I kept it, in case I needed it to focus some healing spells. You can have it as a memento, if you like." I was not at all sure I liked the idea of keeping that knife but I reached out and took it anyway. "Careful," Amos added, "it's a poisoned blade."

It was such a simple knife. There was nothing at all fancy or elegant about the blade, just plain steel, not even celestial bronze. I turned it over in my hands and saw the black scythe of Kronos etched on the handle. I didn't want to ask my next question but I had to know. "Last night, you said my eyes hadn't seen light in more than two years. Has it really been that long?"

Amos carefully said, "It has been twenty-six months, Perseus, almost to the day." He waited for me to process the new information.

I could hardly believe what he was telling me. On autopilot I said, "Percy."

"What?"

"Percy," I repeated. "You keep calling me Perseus. Everybody just calls me Percy." I sat numbly and stared at my breakfast some more. Two years! Where were all my friends? I didn't even know if they were still alive. What about my mom? Then I realized there was another really obvious question that hadn't even occurred to me. "Who ARE you?" I asked Amos. "Who are you and what is this House of Life? Why are they helping me? What do you mean you kept the dagger to 'focus healing spells'? And–"

Amos held a hand to stop the flow of questions. "Who I am is a long tale which is not relevant right now. But what I am is a magician of the House of Life. The House of Life is a collection of wizards descended from the priests and wizards of ancient Egypt, who learned their art from the Egyptian gods."

"The Egyptian gods?" I thought for a moment and I realized that if the Greek gods were real, I suppose other mythological figures probably were as well. "Ok," I decided, "the Egyptian gods."

"Normally we are forbidden to interfere in the affairs of the Greeks, much the same way your Olympians are forbidden to cross into each other's territories. Ancient laws and the order of the universe and all that, you know."

"But isn't that exactly what you did rescuing me?"

"You are not a normal circumstance. The House of Life serves Ma'at, that is, order and harmony. We strive against the forces of chaos. An agent of chaos broke the rules and changed the outcome of the battle where you died. The House allowed me to save you in an attempt to repair the breach."

"How could someone change the outcome of a battle like that?"

Amos shook his head as he answered, "I do not know, Percy. We know only that the world was changed that day. Nature itself is in rebellion. Most people do not notice but anyone who looks can see that the world is at war with itself. The strife in nature is making chaos exponentially stronger. The House is fighting the whole world over to try to restore Ma'at but I and a handful of other magicians believe that until order is restored in the Greek pantheon, we will never succeed. Powerful magicks were used the day of your fight against Kronos and they all cantered on one person."

"Me," I said, guessing where he was headed.

"No," Amos replied simply.

"It wasn't me?" I asked a little incredulous. Amos shook his head. "Then why did you choose to save me?"

"Because you were as close as we could come to the focus of the spell. Truthfully, I do not know if you would have lived or died if events had progressed unaltered. If it were in our power we would have brought the spell's focus here instead of you. We barely realized what was happening in time to do anything about it, though. The source was too well protected for us to tamper with it. However even though you were not the focus of the spell, I believe that your death was its intended goal."

"Wait," I interrupted Amos, "who WAS the spell focused on?"

Amos met my eyes when he answered, "Annabeth. When we were unable to break the spell, we decided to try to alter its result and minimize its damage. That led us to you but by the time we had opened a portal to bring you to us, you had already been wounded."

I was trying to process a lot of information while Amos spoke. It was difficult to believe what he was telling me. "Amos," I said, "what happened after I died?" It was odd to talk in terms of me being dead but for all intents and purposes that was what had happened.

"You mean did Kronos succeed in overthrowing the Olympians?" I nodded. "Yes. The Olympians and the House never had much contact with each other but we know that they were deposed shortly after your death. We assume Kronos is in control, now. So far he has been content to leave the House and its agents alone. But it is anybody's guess whether that will last. The Titan predates even the _Per Ankh_ and our own gods are no longer able to help us fight. If he attacks, we will have no defence. And our own safety aside, the general public is suffering." Amos looked uncomfortable, like he had to do something he was not happy about. "Percy, I can not let you stay here very much longer. Now that you are saved from the wound my authority to act on behalf of the Greeks is gone."

I understood. "Ancient laws and the order of the universe and all that," I said with a wan smile, "you know?"

"Yes," Amos said dolefully, "all that. Percy, I do not know if the spell that was cast on Annabeth can be broken or changed." Amos was grave as he continued, "I do not know if there is anything you can do to restore the Olympians or fight the Titan but I must charge you to try. The fates of us all are riding on the restoration of order." Then his expression brightened. "At least," he said, "I am not sending you out alone." He turned in his seat, looking around him. "Where did Khufu get off to, anyway?"

I frowned, a little afraid that he was going to send Khufu with me. "No, really-" I started to protest when Khufu returned to the room with someone else following behind.

"Agh," grunted Khufu.

"Ah, there you are," said Amos.

"PERCY!" cried Grover.

* * *

OK, so that was my crossover chapter. It is a bit of an odd place to break the chapter but I wanted to reserve Chapter 1 just for the House of Life material. So, as I mentioned, there are two reasons I don't think that it qualifies the whole story as a crossover fic. First, this is pretty much the only chapter where the Kane Chronicles will intrude on an otherwise Percy Jackson story. Second, and more importantly, Mr. Riordan established the Kane Chronicles as taking place in the same fictional reality as the Percy Jackson stories. Several characters in The Red Pyramid remarked on the Greek gods. I may be stretching the bounds a little bit, but that is what artistic license is for, after all.


	3. Chapter 2: Home Sweet Home?

Ok, on to Chapter 2. Lots more exposition in this chapter but I tried to break it up a little to keep things from growing too stale.

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**Chapter 2 – Home Sweet Home?**

As soon as I stepped out of the House of Life I could feel turmoil. Somehow the House was insulated from everything happening around it. Once I was outside, I could feel the unease of everything around me. I could tell Grover felt it, too, probably more than I did since he was so connected with nature. He wore his cap and false feet, so he could pass as human. I was still ridiculously happy to have Grover with me. I would have been happy to see anybody I knew but it was even better to have my best friend with me. When I first saw Grover in Amos' dining room, I could hardly believe it was him.

"Oh, the satyrs are no strangers in Egypt," Amos had said knowingly. "We used to share almost as close a connection with nature as they have."

Apparently after Kronos rose, Grover and a handful of satyrs had gone underground. Literally. Grover led the satyrs into New York's subways and sewers and most of them escaped Kronos' clutches. Grover told me he never believed I was dead, even though everybody had seen me die. "There's no way you could have died without me feeling it in our empathy link," he told me. Grover had turned his considerable abilities as a searcher toward finding me. It took almost a year but he eventually tracked me to the Twenty-first Nome of the House of Life where he discovered what had really happened when I was stabbed and extracted a promise from Amos to alert the satyrs as soon as I woke up.

Now we stood together just outside the House of Life. The mist swirled in strong currents around us. Not just fog off of the East River, but the magical kind of mist. It was everywhere, obscuring everything. I had only felt it so strongly once before, when I ventured into Mount Othrys, the Titan fortress, while it had been reemerging in San Francisco. "Most of North America is like this, now," Grover said. His shoulders drooped, "Ever since Kronos rose to power, the mist has run rampant all over the place." As he spoke I concentrated to try to see through the mist. I looked across the river at Manhattan. The great metropolis looked fine on the surface but the more I penetrated the mist, the more I could see, even from so far away, that the buildings were dilapidated and in disrepair. Plants were dead or dying. More than anything I noticed the gap on the horizon where the Empire State Building used to stand.

"Can't people see that their world is falling apart?" I asked.

Grover shrugged his shoulders, "If they can, they don't seem to care. One of the first things Kronos did was to hunt down and exterminate any mortal with true sight that he could find. He rules this world, Percy, not America, not the president, or anybody else." We were walking toward Queen's bridge and the mortals we passed seemed different. The city used to be vibrant and bustling with life. Now everybody we passed was walking silently, head down, just moving from one point to another. No one was out walking just to enjoy a good walk. "I think unconsciously they feel something is wrong," Grover said when he noticed me watching everybody. "They feel something is out of place but they don't know what and they get depressed. Maybe it's because of the mist. I don't know."

"Grover, my mom has true sight. Is she–"

"She's fine," Grover reassured me, "and so is Paul. Contact with the mortal world is risky—Kronos has spies everywhere—but I manage to see them from time to time. It's not easy for people with true sight. Kronos didn't manage to completely wipe them out but those who are left are mostly insane, unable to cope with the horror of what they've seen. When Typhon defeated most of the Olympians in New York, Kronos rounded them up and hauled them off in chains. After New York, Kronos, his army, and Typhon swept across the US to Mount Othrys. They mostly left mortals alone, unless they were bored and wanted entertainment, or," Grover shuddered, "unless they were hungry. But demigods and anyone aligned with the Olympians were killed on sight. Everyone either hid or died. In the end, Kronos even turned on most of the half-bloods who fought alongside him. The ones left are mostly second-class servants in Mount Othrys."

"What about Annabeth?" I asked. Grover hesitated and I felt his sympathy across our empathy link before he could anything. "No," I spoke in quiet disbelief, "No, she can't be gone."

"I haven't been able to find her ever since the day you died; well, the day you almost died. The satyrs got separated from the half-bloods during the fight. I don't know if she's alive, Percy, but I don't know if she's dead, either."

We were both silent for a long time and I felt a couple tears slide down my cheeks. I wiped them away with the back of my hand. "Ok, before we do anything I have to go see my mother. Does she know I'm not dead?"

"Percy, we weren't sure you would ever wake up. I didn't want to raise her hopes. I haven't really told anybody about you."

"It's all right, you did the right thing. But now it's time to set the record straight." I hailed the first cab we saw and had the driver take us straight to my mom's apartment. Fortunately, Amos had given us some money—just regular, mortal money but that was all we needed for a cab. Even though it was nine in the morning, traffic was not nearly as heavy as it should have been. Nobody went out unless they had to anymore, according to Grover. We got to my mom's building and I ran up the stairs two at a time but I stopped when I got to the door. What was I going to say? "Hi mom, sorry for letting you think I was dead for two years but I was in a coma with an ancient Egyptian magician and his baboon." Hmm, maybe I should work on my delivery.

"Just knock, Percy," Grover urged me. "You won't really know what to say until you see her, anyway."

I decided he was right. I lifted my hand and quickly knocked four times. It seemed to take far too long before I heard the floor creak, which meant someone was coming to the door. When my mother opened the door, I was at a loss for words. I saw recognition in her eyes immediately but it was followed by fear just as quickly. We both just stood there. Then slowly, unbelievingly she reached out a hand and touched my cheek.

"Percy, is it really you?" She sounded so, so tired it broke my heart.

I reached up and held her hand. "Yeah, mom, it's me."

"Oh, Percy!" she grabbed me in a huge hug and started to cry. Pretty soon I was crying, too, even though I had seen her just a few days ago from my perspective. She kept saying my name over and over. "Percy, Percy, oh, my boy, Percy, you're alive!" She pulled back from me with a start, crying and laughing at the same time. "And you need to shave! When did you start shaving?" Always a mother.

"Right now, I guess," I replied. She gave me a quizzical look but let the remark pass for the moment. She saw Grover behind me.

"Thank you, Grover, for never giving up on him. Come in, come in both of you. It isn't safe out here."

As we went inside I couldn't help noticing Mom double-bolted the door behind us. I heard footsteps from down the hall and Paul Blofis, my step-dad, came to join us. "Sally, who was at…the…door…" his voice trailed off when he saw me standing there. "As I live and breathe," he said in astonishment.

"Yes," I said, "as do I."

"Percy!" and another round of hugs was set off.

Finally my mother looked at me and asked the big question. "Percy, what happened to you?" We all sat down at the table while I told them my story. Mom made us all some tea and I started with what I had remembered about my last fight and my "death." When I had finished telling them about Amos and everything he had done for me, Paul sat back in his chair looking overwhelmed.

"Wow," he said. My mom was still crying a little. "What do you do now?"

"Now?" my mom asked. "He'll stay here, of course."

"Mom…" I didn't want to hurt her but I had to leave and she knew it.

"No," she said. "No, not after I've just got you back."

"Kronos' spies will find him if he stays here, Mrs. Jackson," Grover said. "You know they will."

"Mom," I added, "the way the world is now, well, it's just wrong. And I may be one of the only people who can do anything about it."

"I know," she said. "In my head, I know you're right but my heart still doesn't want you to leave again."

I nodded, understanding what she meant but not sure what to say.

Grover filled the silence for me. "We should leave pretty soon. The longer Percy stays in one spot, the easier it will be for the enemy to sense him."

Paul nodded. "Probably best they still think you're, uh, you know."

"Dead?" I supplied.

"Right," Grover agreed.

We all stood up and my mom came over to hug me again. "Where will you go?" she asked. I realized I had no idea where to head next. I looked at Grover for the answer.

Grover looked uncomfortable. "I really can't say," he said staring at the floor.

"I see," I said. "Well, I guess we should find a way to get to San Francisco-"

"No, Percy," he said looking even more uncomfortable. He looked at me and then at my parents. "I mean, I _can't_ say it." My mother held me even tighter. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jackson, but it's kind of a secret."

"It's all right, Grover," said my mom. "I know keeping it secret will help keep Percy safe." She turned to me and cupped my face in her hands. "Be careful, Percy. Please be careful."

"I promise, Mom." Before my mother had time to change her mind Grover and I said good-bye to Paul and were out the door. We stepped onto the sidewalk outside the building and began walking north. "So," I asked Grover, "where are we going?"

Grover hailed a cab. As it pulled to the curb Grover replied, "Where do you think we're going? We're going to camp."

- x - x - x - x - x -

I had assumed that Kronos had wiped out Camp Half-Blood after destroying Olympus. It turned out I was right. When the taxi driver dropped us off on the north end of Long Island, I went up to the top of hill to see camp. There was nothing there. The forest no longer stood in the distance. Where it used to be was a great scarred patch of burned earth. There were not even any ruins of old buildings and even the strawberry fields were choked with weeds. The only landmark remaining was Thalia's pine tree. I walked over to the great tree and saw something lying at its base. Kneeling down, I realized it was a small, carved stone, about the size of an index card, held in place by the roots of the tree. On its face was written, "In memory of Peleus, who fell defending us."

I looked at Grover in confusion. "Why did we come here," I asked, "nothing's left." Grover just pointed. I looked where he was pointing, to where the pavilion used to stand. I couldn't see anything special about it but Grover began to walk down the hill, toward the site. I followed silently. As we walked I saw a tears welling up in Grover's eyes as they looked at the scar where the forest used to stand and I knew why he was upset. "Grover," I said quietly, "I'm so sorry."

"It's OK," he snuffled. "It's been two years but I still can't look at that," his voice trembled with rage, "that _abomination_ without thinking about Juniper." We continued to move through the empty field that used to be camp. Suddenly, I heard a noise. I put my hand on Grover's shoulder and signalled for him to stop.

Moving close beside him I whispered, "What do you smell?"

Grover frowned and sniffed at the air. "Just burnt earth and death. The same things I always smell here." He sniffed again and his frown deepened. "No…there's something more. I smell-" Before he could finish his sentence, we both heard a loud clattering to our left. When we looked we saw a huge scorpion, at least four feet long, on top of a small rise. Its carapace was a glossy black that looked like it was sucking in light around itself. It waved its claws menacingly and its deadly tail hung threateningly in the air.

"Pit scorpion," I said grimly.

"B-b-b-biggest one I've ever s-seen," stammered Grover.

The scorpion had already seen us so it was no use running away. It started towards us, moving as fast as its legs could carry it. Reflexively I reached into my pocket, realizing as I did so that it was useless—I had no weapon. To my shock, my fingers stumbled over a familiar old pen. Riptide had returned to me! I pulled it out and got the cap off just as the scorpion was closing in on Grover. The pen grew into a sword of shimmering celestial bronze.

I ran in front of Grover brandishing the sword across my body. The scorpion's tail came down at me. I sliced and the stinger was neatly lopped off. Grover and I leapt to either side and rolled out of the way of the flailing claws. The scorpion thrashed in pain. I threw Riptide, hurling it with all my might and it struck the scorpion right in the centre of its head. It shuddered once, twice, and collapsed.

Grover got up and retrieved Riptide from the scorpion, wiping it on the grass for me. I stayed on the ground. My heart was racing and pounding so hard I thought it might explode. And twinges of pain were arcing out from the small of my back. I lay on the ground panting, unable to catch my breath. Grover came over to me. "Percy, are you ok?"

It took a moment before I could find the breath to answer. Still panting, I managed to get out, "Guess…I'm still not…100% recovered yet." I gulped in deep breaths of refreshing air and I could feel my heart beginning to slow. "I've got no stamina." Grover helped me sit up and we stayed there on the ground until I had my breath back. I picked up Riptide, hefting its familiar weight in my hands. "I can't believe it came back to me," I said, more to myself than Grover. I pulled the cap from my pocket and returned Riptide to its pen state, slipping it into my pocket. It was good to have something familiar with me; good to have something that hadn't completely changed.

Grover stood up. "It's over this way," he said. We walked until we reached the site where the pavilion used to be. Grover started kicking around some of the dirt with his feet. I wondered what in the world he was doing until he cried out, "Here it is. Percy, come over here." I came over to him and saw that he had uncovered a small metal disk. "Would you mind touching this, Percy? It takes a demigod to open it."

When I leaned down and touched the metal, a single letter glowed blue on its surface. A large letter 'A.' Before I could ask Grover what was going on, I felt the ground shake beneath me. "Grover?" I asked. He was looking at the letter fading on the metal.

"We marked it with an alpha" he told me, "in honour of Annabeth. Several months ago we recovered her laptop, the one Daedalus left her, and figured out how to hide doors the way he hid the entrances to the labyrinth." As Grover spoke a fissure opened in the earth. I realized it was the fissure that Nico di Angelo had opened in the pavilion floor the first summer I met him. Except now it was not just a chasm into the earth; there were stairs carved into one side and I could see light burning at the floor, maybe twenty-five feet below surface level. "Follow me," Grover whispered, "quietly." After we reached the bottom of the stairs the fissure closed behind us forming the roof of a small cave lit by the torches I had seen. Grover picked a torch from the wall and led me down a tunnel branching out of the cave.

The passage soon opened into a much larger cavern lit by even more torches. The cavern was shaped like a large bowl with gently sloping edges. Buildings were carved into the sides and down near the centre was a grouping of about half-a-dozen large tents. Grover led me between the rock-carved buildings and I began to notice people wandering here and there. A small group noticed Grover and stopped what they were doing to watch. I saw them whispering to each other but could not hear what they were saying. Grover ignored everybody we passed, leading me straight to the centre where the tents were grouped. A fire was burning there and people were gathered around tables spread with charts and maps. They seemed to be debating but nobody spoke loudly, everybody spoke in hushed tones as though they were afraid of being overheard.

Before we reached the group one of them noticed Grover and saw me behind him. I recognized him. I hadn't known him well but I think he was one of Hephaestus' children. His eyes got wide when he saw me. He said something to the group and I heard an exclamation from someone else. The group parted and I saw Chiron sitting in his wheelchair with the colour drained from his face. "_Di immortales_," he gasped.

A smile finally returned to Grover's face. Chiron looking questioningly at Grover who simply stated, "We found him."

Chiron wheeled forward, reaching a hand out to me. I clasped it in a handshake and Chiron smiled, too. "You have no idea how good it is to see you safe, Percy."

"Probably about as good as it feels to see you again," I replied.

He laughed. "I suppose it must." His face got serious again. "Lad, where have you been since the Battle of Manhattan?"

* * *

And another chapter is done. One thing I would like to mention, for those who noticed, is that I know, after she married, Percy's mom was Sally Jackson-Blofis but somehow it didn't feel right for Grover to call her Mrs. Jackson-Blofis or Mrs. Blofis during their conversation. I decided just to stick with Mrs. Jackson.


	4. Chapter 3: Light in the Darkness

All right, time to get the story moving again.

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Light in the Darkness**

I stayed with Chiron and his troops for several weeks. I trained every day, still recovering strength after lying still for two years. I was even reunited with Blackjack, my old pegasus. I told Chiron the remarkable details of my survival and what had happened since I woke up. He brought me up to speed on the state of the world. Kronos never publicly revealed himself to the mortals but since he took power, more and more powerful, high-positioned mortals had been turned to his cause. Soon, it was believed, he planned to use the mortal military to begin to grow his base of power into other nations of the world.

Chiron, the scattered survivors of Camp Half-Blood, and some mortals (mostly refugees of the true sight purges) formed a rag-tag group of rebels and had been fighting a guerrilla war against Kronos since shortly after the Battle of Manhattan, as our fight had come to be known. I saw some familiar faces but for every person who had survived there were far, far too many old friends who were missing or dead. Tyson, Nico, Clarice, the Stoll brothers, and too many more. Sometimes the weight of it was too much to bear and I would head off deep into the tunnels for hours, trying to escape a feeling that somehow it was all my fault.

Chiron himself no longer left his wheelchair. His father had decided it would be more cruel to let Chiron live to see the destruction of everything for which he had worked. Kronos had cursed his son and left Chiron crippled and useless, or so he thought. But Chiron, as he always did, made the best of his situation and continued to fight his father in every way he could. Obviously, his primary goal was to overthrow Kronos but he felt that such a task was impossible without the aid of the Olympians. So his rebels worked tirelessly to locate and free Zeus and his family but they were nowhere to be found.

"It is like they vanished from the face of the earth, Percy," he told me one afternoon. I had just finished training and we were walking around the rim of the great cavern. A smooth path had been cleared around the perimeter and allowed easy access to key points throughout the camp for Chiron's wheelchair.

"It's hard to believe Kronos could capture all of them."

"After Typhon defeated them and Olympus was destroyed, it was easy. When Olympus was destroyed, the battle for control of the ocean turned against your father and he was quickly tracked down and captured by Oceanus. Hades held out the longest; the Underworld is a difficult place to assault but they all fell in the end. No one knows what happened after they were taken to Othrys." Chiron paused for a moment, musing in his head. "There are rumours, though, that not all of the Olympians are imprisoned."

I was surprised, "If one of them were free, wouldn't they come here? There aren't any other rebel groups, are there?"

Chiron sighed, "Not that I am aware of, my boy. But remember, we're just demigods and mortals. One of the gods might not even consider us any help." He shrugged, "They might even be staying away to protect us, afraid that their presence would alert Kronos to our location. It is hard to hide the aura of a god, you know."

"Which is why you don't believe the rumours that one of them is free," I guessed.

Chiron nodded. "But now that you are back…" his voice trailed off into thought. "Percy, something is not right about all of this. You have passed age sixteen, you are the child of the great prophecy; yet you faced no choice about the future of Olympus. I think that that magician, what did you say his name was? Amos? I think that Amos was more right than he realized when he said that the order of things had been disrupted."

"It was just a prophecy," I protested, "maybe it was wrong."

"It was not just a prophecy, lad," Chiron corrected me seriously. "It was from the Oracle of Delphi which means it came straight from Apollo. The prophecies of the Oracle _always_ come true. Often," he admitted, "they do not come to pass in the way we believe they will or we can not understand them until after they are fulfilled but they are never wrong."

"Well," I tried to reason, "maybe I'm not the child of the prophecy after all. It only spoke about _a_ child of the elder gods, not specifically _the next_ child of the elder gods."

"Hmmmm," was all Chiron said. I got the feeling he did not agree with me. "The timing—your sixteenth birthday occurring the day that Kronos rose to power—seems coincidental if that is the case." He quieted me when I tried to answer. "We are wandering from the point, Percy."

"And that is?"

"If you are the child of the prophecy and if the prophecy was somehow circumvented, something very, very wrong happened." I had to refrain from coming back with, "Well, du-uh!" I figured that wouldn't be very respectful and he seemed to be reaching the conclusion of his train of thought. "There is someone who might know what was done during the Battle of Manhattan or, at least, how to undo it."

"Who?"

"The Fates, of course," Chiron answered with a wry smile. "Not even Kronos can challenge the Fates. All living beings are subject to the fortunes of destiny. The Fates are not simply Greek, they are universal. The Norns, the Matrones, the Morrígan, the triple goddess…they have many names and many faces."

"Great," I said. I finally had a definite course of action, a goal, and it felt good. "Where can I find them?"

"Generally, you do not. If you are to see them, they will find you."

"I saw them once before," I pointed out. "I watched them cut my life-thread."

"Are you sure it was yours?" asked Chiron. "You did not actually die."

"Who else's could it have been?" Chiron did not answer. "Anyways, there must be some way to find them," I protested. "They have to live somewhere."

"I do not know where that might be. I know of only one way to summon the Fates."

"Perfect," I exclaimed. "How do we do it?"

Chiron looked grave as he answered. "They will come to attend a great hero after he dies."

My spirits fell. "Well that doesn't really help us." We were silent while we each pondered the problem. "If there's been a big violation of ancient laws, maybe they'll try to find me."

"You have been awake for weeks now, Percy. I think they would have come already if that were the case." More silence, then, "You know, oracles and seers have always had a very close relationship with the Fates. If anyone knew how to find them, an oracle would be the one to ask."

"Is the Oracle here with us?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, no, we could not rescue her from camp. It is possible that the Oracle is lost to us forever. I do not think she could be of help to us, anyway, with Apollo captured by Kronos. She was Apollo's oracle."

"Ok, what about other oracles?"

"Very few true oracles survived to modern times, even before Kronos. Most fortune tellers today are either seers or charlatans."

That rang a bell. "Seers? Could a seer help us?"

"Maybe," Chiron sounded doubtful. "Seers are not nearly as reliable. Many seers never even realize they have a gift. They may glimpse the future in dreams or as intuition but they have no communion with Apollo like an oracle would."

"But it would be better than nothing," I insisted. Chiron agreed. "Do you know if Rachel survived the purges?" I hated to even ask the question, fearing the answer.

"Rachel?"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the true-sighted mortal who helped us through the labyrinth. Do you know where she is?"

"Goodness, I had forgotten about the child." Chiron was clearly upset with himself, like he had forgotten a great responsibility.

"Well, she came to Manhattan just before I died." I tried to remember what had happened. "She left after giving me a message but I think she spoke to you first."

"By the gods, I sent her back to camp! I told her to wait for us there." Chiron looked stricken. "Percy, she must have been here when Kronos' forces attacked."

"She may have fled when she realized what was happening," I reasoned. "Rachel was a smart girl and she could see through the mist."

"Percy!" Chiron stopped and grabbed my arm tightly. "Rachel was a seer."

"Yes," I replied. Clearly, something had just become clear to him. "What is it?"

"The child, _di immortales_, I am thick! The child…Percy, _you_ are the child!" I had no idea what he was talking about. He began to wheel back to centre of the cavern and followed. Chiron explained more as we went. "It was right after the rise of Kronos. I returned to the camp to see if anything could be salvaged. Finding nothing of use and no one remaining, I was preparing to leave when something caught my eye." Grover saw us in such a hurry and fell into step beside us. Chiron had reached his tent and, going inside, came back out with a sheet of rolled parchment tied around the middle with a leather cord. "A message had been left in the grass, written in silver dust."

Chiron began to undo the chord around the parchment. "I copied the message down," he told us, "just as a storm came through and wiped it out. I never showed this to anyone, prophecies are dangerous things when they are only half-understood. I assumed it may have been a last message from the Oracle but," he paused, almost afraid to hope, "it could have been the first message from a _new_ Oracle."

"A new one?" Grover and I chorused at the same time.

"Yes, with Olympus destroyed the curse on the old Oracle probably lifted."

"What curse?" I asked.

"It's a long story, and it does not matter right now," replied Chiron. He unrolled the parchment and spread it on a table so we could see. "What does matter is this." We leaned over the table and Chiron read aloud:

"_Be patient and true; forsake not your will._

_A right was made wrong; old words must fulfil._

_When child returns, the time has drawn nigh._

_Who ruleth by blood, by half-blood he dies._

_What help you will need the child shall know._

_Then look to the east and take up your bow._"

We were silent for a moment taking in what we had just heard. "Wow," was all I could say.

"I understand it now," Chiron said. "The great prophecy about Percy must still fulfil, that is in the first two lines."

"Chiron," I protested, "the next two lines sound like now that I'm back, a half-blood has to kill Kronos. That can't be possible."

"Do not try to assign meaning to prophecy you do not understand," Chiron said sternly. "That is how wars are lost. However, I do agree that you must be the child. After all, you know the help we need. If Rachel did indeed take up the mantle of the oracle, she may be the only person alive who can help us. I still do not understand the last line," he said frowning. "It must be telling us how to find Rachel."

"Maybe we should just head east," I suggested, "Pack up our stuff, start walking, and hope we run into her."

"Percy, we are already on Long Island. How much further east can we go? I do not think its meaning is clear, yet."

"Yes, it is, Chiron," Grover said slowly. His voice was shaking a little, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. We both looked at him and his eyes were wide. Grover reached into his pack and pulled out a long, thin tube, capped at both ends. He pulled off one of the caps and it popped as it unsealed. From the tube he drew a single, shining silver arrow.

Chiron sat up in his chair with a sharp intake of breath. "Grover, is that what I think it is?" Grover just nodded. "Why did you never tell me of this?" Chiron said sharply.

Grover drew himself up to his full height. Suddenly he looked so mature, older than his years. "Why did you never show me the prophecy, Chiron? The satyrs work _with_ you, not _for_ you, Chiron. I am the lord of the wild and the goddess of the hunt begged that she remain hidden."

"Of course," Chiron said. "I am sorry; I overreacted."

"Wait a minute," I nearly yelled, "hold everything! Did you just say that Artemis is in hiding?"

Grover returned to more of his old self again. "She's fighting a war of attrition a lot like Chiron's rebels. Many of her hunters escaped Manhattan alive. She doesn't want to align herself with Chiron because she's afraid of attracting too much attention to his activities. And, well," Grover seemed embarrassed, "you also have, you know, boys in the camp."

"The hunters who escaped Manhattan," Chiron said, "was Thalia among them?" Grover nodded happily. Chiron allowed himself a smile of relief. "That girl has more lives than a cat. How did Artemis escape from Kronos?"

"Easy," Grover replied. "She was never captured." Chiron looked astonished. "When Olympus was destroyed, the gods knew all hope was lost. They tried to retreat but one by one they were captured. When no one was left except Zeus and Artemis, Zeus told her that it was imperative that all the gods not be captured. With the last of his strength he turned and fought head-to-head with Kronos' forces, holding out long enough to allow Artemis to flee into hiding."

"So, what exactly is that arrow?" I asked.

"Artemis tracked me down while I was hunting for you, Percy, a couple of months after the Battle of Manhattan. She told me that she had to remain in hiding," Grover explained to me, "but that a day would come when she could reveal herself. 'When that day arrives,' she said, 'fire this arrow to the east and I shall know of it.'"

"Wow," I said again.

"Well," Grover said, "does anybody have a bow I can borrow?"

- x - x - x - x - x -

Chiron, Grover, and I stood together on the top of Half-Blood Hill around Thalia's pine tree. Chiron looked almost relaxed, enjoying the cool night air and the breeze off of the sound. "It has been too long since I was outside," he murmured. The sun had long since set but the moon was bright tonight. In the silver light, I could almost forget what had happened to this place. It was peaceful and…beautiful. Then I remembered why we were hiding underground. I remembered why the Empire State Building no longer stood in the Manhattan skyline. I remembered Annabeth.

"We have to fix this," I said. "I don't care what it takes. We have to." Without a word Grover nocked Artemis' silver arrow in a bow. Turning to the east, Grover pointed the arrow at the horizon and drew the bow back until it was almost too taught to hold. Then he let the arrow fly. It soared free and far, glinting in the moonlight. We watched as it flew into the night sky and disappeared.

"Now," Chiron said, "we wait."

* * *

And so you, too, must wait for the next chapter. It will be up soon, I hope. Let me know what you think so far, if you are so inclined.


	5. Chapter 4: Into the Deep

Good news: I think I know how the story is going to end now. Onward!

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Into the Deep**

And we waited.

For days and weeks we waited for some sign that Artemis had had received our signal but nothing came. "Have patience, m'boy," was all I would get from Chiron when I complained that we should be doing something besides waiting. I had told my mother I had to leave so I could go set the world right and here I sat, waiting on someone who might have been captured already.

"How much longer, Chiron?" I asked, not bothering to keep the irritation out of my voice. "How much longer are we going to sit here and wait for her?"

Chiron looked at me with a stern expression that made me feel like I was back at school being lectured by a teacher. "We wait until we can wait no longer, Percy. The gods are not famous for their punctuality or quick responses," he pointed at me with each syllable, emphasizing his words. "Be patient." Chiron had lived for dozens of lifetimes and had acquired the patience that accompanies immortality. I had not.

I stayed in Chiron's tent, standing silent for a long moment before I turned and left. Nerves were frayed and tempers were short all over the camp. Ever since word had spread that we had attempted to contact Artemis I could almost feel a thrum of anticipation throughout the cavern. Everyone wanted to get out and do something but nobody knew what to do. Not even Chiron knew what to do except for wait for Artemis to respond. I wandered through the cavern until I found Grover tending to what passed for a garden down here.

He waved when he saw me coming. "Hi, Percy."

I nodded back, "Grover." He continued to play his reed pipes for a moment longer laying some charm or blessing to help the mushrooms and moss grow. It wasn't the best food I'd ever had but it kept us full and strong and we'd certainly be in trouble if they stopped growing. When Grover finished, he came and sat down beside me on a large boulder.

"You've been talking to Chiron again, haven't you," he said—it wasn't a question. I did not reply so he continued. "I can feel your temper buzzing over our empathy link. He's right, you know. You have to be more patient."

"Artemis might not even be out there, Grover. Who's to say she hasn't been captured since she gave you that arrow?"

"She's not captured, Percy. She's still out there somewhere."

I looked at him and saw no doubt in his eyes. "How can you be so sure?"

"For thousands of years, she has been hunting all of the most elusive prey, learning their tricks and finding their hiding places. Now the tables are turned and she has become the prey. It will take a hunter with more skill than you can find in Kronos' army to track her down. Besides," his brow furrowed and he looked up at the roof of the cavern, "she's part of the wild. I can feel her out there, somewhere. If she were ever captured, I'd know it just as sure as I knew you weren't dead after the Battle of Manhattan."

"Well, I can hardly argue with the lord of the wild, can I?"

Grover grinned and shrugged. "It's late, Percy. Try to get some sleep."

- x - x - x - x - x -

I found myself near the top of an impossibly high mountain peak. It stood alone so high above the land below that the land could not be seen. Clouds drifted past above and below me making me slightly dizzy. I was dreaming again. Ahead of me I could see three small shelters around a fire so I walked toward them. They were little more than roofs to protect from the rain, just four poles supporting a number of large leaves. Sitting on a flat stone underneath each shelter was an impossibly old man. They all had wrinkled, withered faces and white beards and hair that had grown comically wild. Each was dressed in voluminous robes which I could tell had once been very fine but were now worn, tattered, and dirty. They each sat in their shelters, huddled against the elements, saying nothing.

I wondered if this was a real physical location or if I was seeing some sort of dream representation of a real place. It was not always easy or even possible to tell in a dream. I did know who the three men were; at least I thought I did. They looked nearly identical except for the colour of their robes. The one in the centre had blue robes and the man to his right had green robes. The third one wore black. I was pretty sure these were the three elder gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades but they looked horrible. I couldn't find any trace of the men they once were, even in my father. I looked at the one in green robes and tried to see the familiar sparkle in my father's eyes that I knew so well. There was nothing. Timidly I moved closer to him. In a small voice, I ventured, "Dad?"

He looked up for a moment and I thought he would answer me but his eyes did not focus on me. None of them noticed me and I realized that I was only an onlooker here, not a participant. I sat down next to the fire and waited for something to happen. Poseidon shifted slightly and I heard metal clanking. I glanced over and saw manacles on his ankles, chaining him to the stone on which he sat. All three of them were chained. I turned away and stared into the fire. If Kronos could capture the three most powerful figures in the Olympian pantheon, what did that mean for our little rag-tag group of rebels?

What struck me even harder than the fact that they had been captured was that they seemed to have been broken. There was no life, no fight left in these men. As I was pondering that singularly depressing thought my father took a deep breath.

"Brothers…" His voice sounded like mine had right after I woke up in the House of Life. It was dry and raspy. If he had been human, I am sure it would have hurt his throat to speak. The other two just sat on their rocks staring out at nothing through dull, half-lidded eyes. Poseidon drew another heavy breath. "Brothers!" His voice still sounded weary but it had a bit of his old strength back in it. This time the others responded, slowly turning to face him. He began again. "Brothers, the time draws nigh." Zeus and Hades said nothing. "The child of the prophecy, my son, still lives." Poseidon sat back and waited for the others to say something.

It was Hades who first answered him. "Why do you persist in teasing us with false hope?" His voice dripped with irritation and anger. "Can you not allow us to pass from this world in peace?" Poseidon glared at his brother but before he could reply Hades continued. "What remains of our great kingdoms that we should wish to be rescued?" His voice softened as he went on saying, "Believe me, brother, I understand a father's wish for his child to live. I lost both my children."

Zeus sat up straighter assuming the role of leader even in captivity. He spoke slowly and haltingly but his voice was stronger than both of the others'. "The son of the sea god…has failed us." That was it. His attitude suggested that he felt this closed discussion but my father was not done yet.

"You are always too quick to assume you are right, brother of mine." I could tell that my father's reply rankled Zeus. Poseidon reached into the folds of his robe and drew out a small case, long and flat and made of polished bronze. It had remained untarnished somehow and gleamed in the light of the fire. Poseidon opened the box. The inside was lined in satin and empty. There was a depression in the satin where something used to rest, a depression rather the size and shape of a ballpoint pen. "Anaklusmos has left once more," Poseidon said with an air of triumph. "Since the death of my son, it has refused to bond to another and now it vanishes." He paused for dramatic effect, perhaps, or maybe just because he was out of breath. "My son lives still."

"And what good is that to us?" Zeus shot back. "My daughter, she of the silver bow and one of the immortal gods, has been unable to free us from Father's grasp. What hope have we from a little half-blood?"

Hades looked to Zeus. "Have you forgotten that a half-blood is responsible for restoring Father to power in the first place? Long ago Father underestimated the next generation and by that we came to power; likewise our father's father before him."

"There is always hope, brothers," Poseidon said. "If we learn anything from the humans, let it be that." He looked around them, as if checking for anyone who might overhear them. "There is a chance, if my son can-"

"Percy!" My eyes snapped open. Grover was leaning over my bedroll shaking my shoulders. "Percy," he was breathless, "she's coming! I can feel it; she's coming!"

"Wha…" I mumbled still a bit fuzzy from sleep and trying to separate what was reality and what had been dream. "Who?"

"Artemis," Grover said in an exasperated tone. "She's very nearby." I was awake now and pulling on my shoes. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was morning. "C'mon, Percy, I need you to open the door so we get up to the surface."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I said. I stood up and we went to the door of my tent. "I think we should get Chiron. He'll want to be there." We nearly ran from my tent to Chiron's. Chiron was awake and quickly made ready to accompany us to the surface. We exited the cavern through the tunnel and at the base of the stairs I touched the right rock and saw the blue alpha glow on its surface. Before the roof of earth had even finished opening, Grover was running up the stairs. I slowly pulled Chiron up the stairs one at a time behind him. We got to the top and I turned around to find myself surrounded by several dozen warriors. I panicked for just a moment, afraid that we had stumbled into a trap but then a young girl stepped out from between the warriors holding up a gleaming silver arrow the same colour as her shining eyes.

"I believe you sent this," she said. I realized that all of the warriors surrounding us were young girls wielding silver bows. "Forgive our cold reception," she apologized and all of the bows pointed at us vanished into the hunters' packs. "We had to be sure it was safe."

We were all stunned for a moment. I tried to answer. "Yes but, um, how did you find us? We thought we were hidden. I mean, the door…" I gestured toward the crevice in the earth behind me.

"Ah, yes, the door," she replied with a small smile. "It was quite well-hidden."

"But not from me." I looked to see who had spoken and a girl my own age with frizzy red hair stepped between the warriors just as Artemis had.

"Rachel!" I cried.

She ran to me and grabbed me in a big bear hug. "Percy, it's so good to see you alive!"

"Yeah," I said, "I've been getting that a lot lately." Rachel let go of me to say hello to Grover and Chiron.

A girl a couple years younger than me with black hair and striking blue eyes came to Artemis' side. I would've known it was Thalia even she hadn't been wearing the silver circlet which marked her as Artemis' lieutenant. She hadn't aged a day since the last time I saw her. "My lady," she began in a quiet voice, "we ought to go down. It is not safe for you to be in the open like this."

Artemis nodded. "Of course." She looked to Chiron. "If we may?" Chiron nodded and the hunters began to file down the staircase into the earth. Grover and I helped Chiron down the stairs next and Artemis went down last, except for Thalia who stayed until everybody else was safely inside. The earth closed behind and we began to make our way to the cavern. As we went Artemis walked next to Chiron. "It is good to see you again, Uncle, even if under such dire circumstances."

Chiron smiled as he replied, "With your return, my lady, I have a little more hope that things may yet change for the better." When we got to the cavern, people reacted much the same way they had when Grover first brought me. They whispered to each other as we passed by and tried not to look like they were staring. "Grover," Chiron called, "fetch the senior counsellors. We will be holding a council of war." Grover ran off and by the time we reached Chiron's tent and the bonfire in the centre of the cavern he and twelve other campers were waiting for us. Most were demigods but there were two mortals. They were Chiron's most trusted leaders in the camp. He had chosen twelve, of course, in honour of the twelve Olympians but when I arrived he had named me the thirteenth rather than replace one of them. Most of the hunters went to find accommodations but Artemis and Thalia stayed for the council as did Grover.

We assembled in seats near the fire and Chiron surveyed us one by one. He cleared his throat and we looked at him but he said nothing. He had always been our _de facto_ leader but with Artemis present no one was sure who should take control.

"Please proceed, Uncle," Artemis finally said.

"Let me first officially extend welcome the Lady Artemis and the Oracle." Artemis nodded gracefully and Rachel smiled. "And then," Chiron added, "I would very much like to hear how both of you escaped capture."

Rachel answered for both of them. "When Artemis fled from Kronos' forces, the first place she came to was Camp Half-Blood to find whatever help she could. She found it under attack and found me hiding in the forest."

Here Artemis interjected, "I found her just as the Big House fell to the invaders. The Oracle had been destroyed and her spirit was fading. When I found a seer, I knew it was destiny. I begged her to take the spirit of the Oracle to save it from destruction."

"Artemis helped me take in the Oracle's spirit and just afterwards I spouted off some great prophecy. At least, Artemis tells me I did, I don't remember doing it."

"I knew I had to keep the Oracle safe so I took her with me when I fled the camp. Later, after everything had settled down and Kronos' was back in Othrys, I returned to camp and saw my favourite uncle wandering amidst the ruins."

Chiron looked startled. "You were there? But why did you keep yourself hidden?"

Artemis was apologetic as she answered, "It was not yet safe for me to be with you, I would attract too much attention." People around the fire glanced at each other as they realized the unspoken meaning of her statement. It still was not safe for her to be with us because she attracted too much attention. I made a mental note to make sure we doubled the guard tonight. "But," Artemis continued, "I placed the Oracle's prophecy where you would find it and made it my mission to find someone I could trust with the knowledge of my freedom." Here she looked at Grover and Grover blushed right to the roots of his horns.

"Since then," Rachel added, "We have been in hiding most of the time. Artemis and her hunters make strikes now and then."

"Only to protect our secret and your existence," interrupted Thalia. "We have not been as active as we might have been." She sounded a little bit like she was scolding Artemis.

"The Oracle is far too important to risk discovery, Thalia," said Artemis. "We had to remain hidden"

"But why?" Rachel protested. "I haven't had a prophecy since the first day I became the Oracle. I don't even know if-" suddenly she stopped and her face blanked. She blinked and when her eyes opened again they were glowing an eerie green. When she spoke, it was slowly and there was an odd echo-like quality in her voice.

"_The child must go to the kingdom below_

'_Neath water and waves where no wind will blow,_

_There to be tested of body and mind_

_In order the greatest of prizes to find._

_Should the quest fail and child be lost,_

_Earth and her people will suffer the cost._

_To set right all wrongs and shatter the spell_

_The source must be freed and all will be well."_

She stopped speaking and we all stared at her. Chiron was the only one with the presence of mind to grab a piece of parchment and start writing down what Rachel had just said. Rachel blinked again and the glow faded from her eyes. "-if I _can_ receive prophecies," she finished. Then she noticed we were all staring at her. "What?" she asked testily. "Do I have something in my teeth?"

"You just delivered another prophecy, my dear," answered Chiron and he read it back to us. "It seems that Percy has been given another quest, into his father's old kingdom."

"Sending him down alone is a suicide mission," Thalia argued. "No one has been into Oceanus' kingdom since Poseidon was captured. No one," she amended, "has returned from it, at any rate."

Chiron gave Thalia his school teacher look. "And what do _you_ propose we do? Whom do you feel should accompany Percy into the depths of the ocean?"

Thalia set her jaw. "Percy can make an air bubble," she said. "He's done it before in the sea of monsters."

"Only for a short while," Chiron reminded her. "There is no telling how much it could tax his strength to do that for an extended period. What will happen if the quest lasts days and you need to sleep?"

One of the other senior counsellors piped up. "Percy hasn't even had a chance to get in the water since he died, I mean, since he came back. We don't know if he still has the same abilities he did before."

Artemis watched her lieutenant argue with Chiron and the councillors but said nothing. She would glance at me from time to time, as if trying to gauge my readiness or something but she said even less than I did during the debate. Mostly she would only step in to keep tempers even and mediate harsh disputes. The council stayed up late into the night debating our next course of action. It seemed fairly straightforward to me but not everybody agreed. I didn't say much; I found it hard to even listen to what everybody was saying because all I could think about was the last line of the prophecy. _The source must be freed_, I thought to myself. I glanced up as tempers flared amongst the council once more.

"This is the largest and strongest group of fighters to have been assembled since the Battle of Manhattan," Thalia was saying. "If Percy is to undertake this quest alone, which I still think is foolish, then let us arrange a distraction."

One of the senior counsellors, the son of Hephaestus who had seen me the first day I came back, laughed and said, "Sure, we'll just attack Mount Othrys. That would work."

Thalia raised her head and said simply, "Yes."

Chiron gaped at her. "You can not be serious. You accuse this quest of being a suicide mission and then propose an assault on Othrys? Madness."

I looked over at Artemis and saw her looking at me again. She inclined her head ever so slightly toward the arguing demigods and raised her eyebrows. She seemed to be asking me if I was going to do something about this. I could not take it anymore. I stood up shouting, "STOP! All of you stop this right now!" All heads swivelled to look at me. I took a deep breath and plunged onward. "Chiron, you're right," before Thalia could interrupt me I quickly added, "and, Thalia, so are you." That surprised Thalia into silence. Chiron waited, as I knew he would, for me explain myself before he would say anything.

"Everyone is ignoring the last line of the prophecy," I said. "I'm not the one who's important here. Amos told me that if he could've, he would've taken the source of the spell from the Battle of Manhattan but he couldn't because it was too well protected." My voice shook as I went on, "Annabeth was the source and Annabeth has been missing since the Battle of Manhattan."

"Percy," Chiron said in a gentle voice, "I know how you feel but the odds of her turning up now, after all this time…"

"No," I said firmly. "No, she _is_ alive, don't you understand. Look at the last line. We have to free the source to shatter the spell that changed everything. Annabeth is alive, being held prisoner and we have to free her."

Chiron eyed me sceptically, "And you believe she is in Othrys, Percy?"

"Well, to use your logic," Thalia pointed out in a sarcastic tone, "they can't very well be holding her underwater."

Artemis lifted a hand in Thalia's direction, "Remember your place, lieutenant," she said quietly.

Thalia lowered her head. "I'm sorry, my lady." Artemis arched an eyebrow and Thalia sighed. "And I'm sorry, Chiron." Chiron nodded.

I turned to Rachel. "You're the Oracle, have you had a single dream or vision or even a hint of where Annabeth might be being held?" Rachel shook her head no and I looked to Grover. "And you have been searching for Annabeth longer than you were searching for me after the Battle of Manhattan."

Grover shuffled uncomfortably, "Well, the trail's gone pretty cold now."

I waved aside his excuse. "You are the searcher who found Pan deep underground and you located me in the House of Life. Where else but Othrys could Annabeth be being held that even the lord of the wild and the Oracle can not locate her?" There was an uncomfortable silence around the fire.

Artemis surveyed those assembled one by one and finally said, "I believe young Perseus is correct."

"But to assault Othrys," Chiron protested, "it can't be done. Not with the small force we have here."

"Which is why you can't go yet," I said. "Not until I return from my father's kingdom." Thalia started to protest but I held up a hand to silence her. "And I _will_ return," I promised. "Whatever 'prize' is at the end of this quest is the key to freeing Annabeth. Without it," I reminded them, "'Earth and her people will suffer the cost.' We have to hide a little bit longer, until I come back." What I thought but didn't say was that I just hoped whatever was waiting at the end of this quest would make it a little more obvious what we should do next.

Chiron was clearly giving my little speech a lot of thought. He looked over at Artemis and asked, "My lady, your thoughts?"

Artemis tilted her head to the side and smiled, "I think that my hunters should aid your guards while we wait for Percy to return to us. My presence here will be a danger to you."

Chiron nodded wisely. "Then Percy will leave at first light tomorrow."

- x - x - x - x - x -

The next morning I awoke well before first light and planned to slip out of the camp without any fuss. I left a note for Grover and another one for Chiron explaining that I had already left and would be back as soon as I could. I packed a small bag with some food and slipped Riptide into my pocket but other than that I took nothing. I would need to be able to fight while carrying anything I took with me because the only way I could keep things dry underwater was by touching them so I did not want a lot of weight. I slipped the knapsack over my shoulder and went up to the surface.

As I walked toward Long Island Sound I glanced up at the moon. It seemed to be shining unusually brightly tonight and it was not even full. I studied it for a second and realized that the light came not from the moon but from behind me. I spun around and found myself face-to-face with Artemis, who was glowing with a diffuse silver aura. She fell into step beside me and we walked in silence to the beach. "This is as far as I can take you, Percy," she said. "I can not venture into the ocean."

"I understand."

"Be careful, Percy," I heard genuine concern in her voice. "We are all counting on you. Here," she held out a small package, "take this." I opened the package and found several squares of ambrosia and a small vial of nectar. "It is the last that remains from Olympus," she said wistfully. "I have saved it many months in anticipation of this day."

"Thank you, my lady." I slipped the package into my knapsack and zipped it shut. Artemis stood on the shore as I waded into the ocean. I swam out into deeper water, took a deep breath, and dipped under the surface. My heart beat a little faster, not out of need for air but because I was a little nervous. This was the first time I had tried to breathe underwater since I "died." I closed my eyes, released my breath, and inhaled. Then I felt the familiar odd sensation of breathing underwater and I relaxed. I was home. More than my mom's apartment or my friends at camp, the ocean was my home. I smiled and gathered the ocean currents behind me, speeding into the deep.


	6. Chapter 5: Deep Trials

Let me first make my apologies for taking so long to get this chapter posted. The story for chapter six is pretty well set in stone but it has several parts that are proving quite difficult to write. On top of that, I keep changing my mind about how I want to handle chapter seven (which depends a great deal on chapter five). It has taken me a while to hash it out, so to speak. Hopefully it will not take me so long to put up the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Deep Trials**

As I slid deeper and deeper into the ocean I was struck by how much it had changed. When my father had ruled the seas, the ocean had been a bright place and full of life. Maybe mortals wouldn't have seen it that way but with my heat-sensitive demigod eyes I could see in places they couldn't. That was how it used to be. Right now the ocean felt almost as dark to me as it would have to any mortal. Even with my eyes I was having trouble seeing my surroundings. I realized that it was because there was so much less life in the water so there was nothing to radiate heat.

With growing unease I journeyed further down. Not really knowing where else to go, I was heading for my dad's old palace. I didn't know if it was still standing or if Oceanus had taken up residence there but it seemed as good a place to start as any. It was not easy going to get there. I had once overheard directions to it and I'd been there once—not long ago from my perspective although it was actually a couple years ago—but neither was helping me find it again. The ocean was so dark that I couldn't find the landmarks I was watching for and my navigational sense was…I don't know, somehow cloudy. I can't really explain how it works but when I'm in the ocean I always know exactly where I am. It's kind of like having a GPS in my head. Again, though, that was how it used to be. Today I was having a lot of trouble figuring out where I was.

For all my troubles, it felt really good to be out of that cave and doing something again. If I'd had to stay underground very much longer I think I'd have gone stir-crazy. Besides, I was still pretty sure I was headed in the right direction to get to my dad's old palace. I was very nearly to the ocean floor when I stopped for a moment to get my bearings and see if I needed to change course. I was concentrating really hard, trying to get my location fixed as precisely as possible when I was suddenly jostled by a sudden surge of water from my left. As quickly as the disruptive current had shown up, it was gone again. I opened my eyes and looked around to see what was happening.

I couldn't see anything out of place but, then, I could hardly see anything in this water. It was like swimming in ink. The darkness was beginning to unnerve me; my hand groped in my pocket and found Riptide. I drew out my sword and uncapped it, holding it up like a torch so I could see what was out there by the faint glow of the celestial bronze. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something move and spun to look, bringing Riptide to bear in front of me. I could see a shadowy form floating off in the murky water. It seemed to be holding still, perhaps eyeing me as I was eyeing it. I wondered if it could see any better in this ink than I could. Of course, I was holding up a glowing celestial bronze beacon for it to home in on. The creature began to move closer, slowly at first but quickly picking up speed. Almost too late I realized the monster was charging me!

I plunged down toward the ocean floor as the monster shot right through the space I had occupied just a second earlier. It was finally close enough for me to see it. Seeing it did not make me feel any better. It was a gigantic serpent with a body thicker around than an oak tree and covered in scales. Barbed fins rose off its back and jutted from its sides. At the end of its body it had a lethal looking tail of three enormous fins that jutted at equal angles away from its body. As it tore through the water, undulating its massive body side to side, the barbs of its fins and tail whirled around it like deadly saw blades. I leapt up from the surface, intending to try and attack it from behind but as I did the serpent uncoiled itself and the front end whipped around to face me.

It had a face like a barracuda long and slim, all eyes and teeth. Lots and lots of teeth. It opened its jaws to reveal a mouth that looked big enough to swallow me whole and not even notice. I dodged to the left and tried to plunge Riptide into its side but the sword ricocheted harmlessly off of its scales. I barely pulled back in time to avoid being sliced by the nasty fins as they swept by me. Even as I collected myself and prepared to launch another attack I saw the serpent's head turning back around to face me. A shift in the water current was all the warning I had that another strike was approaching from behind but it was enough. I shot up in the water, swimming through one the coils of the huge body and saw the lethal barbs of the creature's tail sweep beneath me.

I did a quick somersault and redirected my momentum straight to monster's head. I sped through the water, Riptide extended in front of me, aiming for one of its yellow eyes. It tried to catch me with its tail but I zigged and zagged around until I had a clear shot at its lidless eyes. I drove Riptide down with all my might but the serpent moved just as I did and my sword glanced harmlessly off of its impenetrable scales. That was when I noticed a small fluttering of the creature's neck, just a short way back from the head. Before my brain even had time to process the fact that I was seeing gills, my arms were already striking with Riptide, driving it deep into the crevices between the scales. The monster roared in pain and a red cloud of its blood filled the water around me. The great body was thrashing and before I could back off, it slammed against me, knocking the wind out of me and shredding my arm on one of its fins.

I was thrown hard to the ocean floor below where I lay for a second clutching my arm and catching my breath. The blood began to flow off of my arm, drifting into the water in another red cloud. I stood up still clutching my bad arm with the other. I saw the serpent above me glaring down with malice. I knew I didn't stand a chance against the beast. Even if I'd had a fighting chance before, now my sword arm was cut open with three deep gashes. The serpent plunged down at me, driven into a fury by the pain of the wound on its neck. I had dropped Riptide when my arm had been gashed and all I could do was try to run. There was a large boulder not far away that had a deep crevice in its side and I raced for it, praying I would get there before the monster caught up to me.

I swear I could feel the serpent's teeth at my neck when I reached the boulder and hurled myself into the crevice, slamming against the far side. The monster pulled up short, unable to get inside the small crack to reach me. It sat outside the crack in the rock, whether waiting for me to come out or thinking about how it could inside I didn't know. I noticed that I was able to see much better now. In fact, as the beast and I stared at each other it was rapidly growing brighter. I scanned the sea behind the beast and saw why: more animals were beginning to come into the area. Blood was in the water. Sharks of every shape and size were closing in on us. I panicked for a brief moment before I got my wits again.

I pulled off my shirt and tore it into long strips. Working quickly I wrapped my arm tightly in the makeshift bandage. It was so tight it made my arm hurt even more than it did already but I knew I had to stop the bleeding. Sharks were already circling the area, sizing up their potential dinner. The sea serpent was lashing out and snapping at any that came too close but he was still pouring blood from his neck into the water and he wasn't scaring off any of the sharks. I knotted my bandages at my wrist. I remembered once before when I had summoned the power of the sea from dozens of miles away on dry land. Afterwards I learned that I had caused Mount Saint Helens to erupt again. I remembered what I had done that day and I reached for the power again. If I could do it on dry land, surely I could do it here, in the middle of the ocean. Right?

The power of the ocean surged through me and I began to feel faint as more and more of my strength ebbed from me. At first nothing seemed to happen; the sharks and the serpent continued to circle. Then there came a great thundering from above. The water was churned into a white froth, streaked with red blood as the waterspout I created sank straight to the ocean floor. It shattered the boulder I where I was hiding and lifted me up above the fray. I let it carry me nearly to the surface until I released the mighty storm. I swam away as fast as I was able—superhumanly fast—and didn't stop to look back. I fled as far and as fast as I was able. I didn't care what direction I was going; I just wanted to get away. For the first time ever, I ran for my life.

I manipulated the currents to push me even faster. I didn't know where I was going but I knew I had lost that fight. I was close enough to the surface now that sunlight was visible and I didn't need to rely on my demigod eyes to see anymore. I still couldn't really tell where I was but as I fled I felt an odd pull, a compulsion that I was supposed to go in a particular direction. I sped through the water, not even caring if any mortals nearby happened to see me. Even though my navigation sense was out of whack, I knew I was returning to land because the ocean was gradually getting shallower.

Before long I spotted a ferry boat shuttling people to a nearby island. I followed the ferry as it came into a sound and rounded a point to come into a dock. I figured it would not be a good idea to pop up from underwater right in front of a bunch of people so I swam a bit north until I found a nice beach. It was mid-morning and I was alone on a beach of white sand. I dug into my pack and got out the package Artemis had given to me. I munched on a small square of ambrosia and took a few sips of nectar. My arm quickly began to feel better. Fortunately, the sea serpent's barbs did not appear to be poisoned.

I investigated my surroundings. Almost immediately I noticed that the mist was not so thick here. Maybe it was because the island was far enough away from the mainland that it was not so affected. There were some houses on the north shore but I wandered back to the south, toward where I had seen the ferry dock. Not far off the beach I found a sign telling me where I was. _Welcome to Harbor Beach_ the sign said and underneath in smaller letters _Nantucket, Massachusetts_. The town of Nantucket came right to the edge of the beach and as soon as I left the sand I found myself wandering through wharfs and small shops. There were not many people out, probably because it was kind of chilly, I supposed. I passed a group of girls who looked like they were window shopping and noticed them looking at me. One of them nudged another and they both giggled. That was when I remembered that I wasn't wearing a shirt. More accurately, I was wearing a shirt but it was wrapped around my wounded arm.

I felt my cheeks burning and looked around for some shop where I might be able to pick up a shirt. I still had some of the money Amos had given me and I figured it should be enough to get a souvenir tee-shirt. I saw a gift shop that looked promising. Walking up the weathered wooden steps of the porch I found a heavy-set old man wearing a white suit sitting in a rocking chair smoking a ridiculously large pipe. He eyed me for a moment, noting the bloody bandage wrapped around my arm. "You're not from around these parts are you, son?" He had large voice that seemed to come from deep in his chest and pronounced 'parts' with almost no 'r' like, "pahts." I shook my head no. "Ayuh," he nodded, "I didn't think so. Come on in," he jerked his head toward the shop, "Let's see if we can't find a shirt for you."

We walked into the shop and he pointed me toward a rack of tee-shirts. I picked up one in my size that had a picture of an old-style clipper ship sailing on a storm-tossed sea. I began to dig Amos' money out of my pocket but the fellow motioned me to put it away. "Don't you worry yourself about that; I can spare a shirt for a fellah in need." He looked out the window at the empty street. "Odd time of year t' be visitin' here. During the tourist season this town really gets hoppin'."

"I'm not exactly a tourist," I said.

The shopkeeper indicated my bandaged arm. "I didn't think you were. Now how does a young fellah like you wind up doin' that to hisself?"

"I got in a fight with someone bigger than me," I answered truthfully. He didn't say anything but made a noise in his throat that sounded like, "Mmmmmm." I wasn't sure if that was disapproving, disbelieving, or something else. Suddenly I felt uncomfortable. I wasn't sure why I was here or what I ought to be doing. "Um, I guess I ought to be on my way," I said. "Thanks for the shirt."

"Hold up, there," he replied. "Where you headed to? I get the feelin' you didn't 'xactly plan on comin' here. D' you know what it is you're lookin' for?"

I looked at him sharply. "What do you mean, 'looking for'?" I asked suspiciously.

He laughed at my suspicion. It was a long, hearty laugh. When his laughter died down, he fixed me with a knowing gaze. "You don't look or act like a tourist, son. You got the feelin' of the sea about you even though, unless I miss my guess, you never served a single day on a boat, have you?" I didn't answer which he seemed to take as an affirmation. He nodded in self-satisfaction. "So why are you here?" He didn't wait for me to answer, "Ayuh, you're lookin' for somethin', all right."

For some reason, I trusted this old guy. He was friendly and he had given me a shirt. "Yeah," I said, "I was looking for something, something in the ocean, but I…I got distracted."

"Would that have somethin' t' do with the bandages, then?"

"Yeah. After that, I just felt like I was supposed to come here."

"Here? You mean my shop?"

"No, just…I don't know. I think there may be something to find here but I don't know what." Out of the blue something occurred to me. "This may sound odd but is there anyplace around here that's got, well, a sort of connection to the ocean?"

My companion laughed again, "Son," he said, "This is Nantucket Island. You'll be hard pressed to find someplace that _don't_ have some ocean-goin' history."

"No, not history, or something like that. I mean someplace that's…different."

The shopkeeper stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Welllll," he said, drawing the word out as the considered, "I suppose there's the wetlands."

"Wetlands?"

"Ayuh, up on the north-east end of the island. That's where you'll find the Coskata-Coatue refuge. Not really much there, though, just a lighthouse. Course it's closed this time of year," he considered me a moment, "But I don't suppose that'll really matter to you." I didn't say anything. "The lighthouse is up on Great Point at the very tip of the island, almost as far north-east as you can get without goin' into the ocean."

"Thanks; that sounds like a good place to start."

The shopkeeper just nodded his head. "You be careful, now, y'hear." I assured him I would and left the shop to head back to the beach where I had come ashore. I slid into the water and followed the island shoreline to the east. As the old man had predicted, it soon swept up north. I found Great Point at the very tip of the island, connected to the main body by a tiny little isthmus of land that looked like it might be overtaken by the ocean at any moment. The lighthouse was just a short walk up the white sands of the eastern shore. The wind whipped around me as I approached and stung my skin with sand caught up in the air.

The lighthouse appeared to be deserted. It made sense, given that it was closed this time of year. There was a small, red-roofed little shed attached to the bottom of the lighthouse. I supposed that it was all automated these days and there was no need for a keeper to live on-site. The lighthouse itself was tall and white, with a couple windows and a large solar panel set around its side and a shining beacon turning on top. Even though the place was empty, I found the door unlocked and slightly ajar. I pushed it open and went inside, climbing the stairs to the top of the lighthouse. At the top I walked around the small room with the rotating beacon in the centre. The beach and the ocean spread far out below me.

Although the view was impressive, I still was not sure what I was supposed to be doing. I turned to go back down the stairs, planning to search the lighthouse, and I nearly ran into a guy who was just coming up the stairs. "Sorry," I said, "I didn't see you there." I silently reflected that I hadn't seen _anybody _around the lighthouse, much less inside it.

"Don't worry about it," he said. He was middle-aged, maybe about my step-dad's age, and had long-ish brown hair and brown eyes. He walked past me and looked out the windows to the ocean below. "Beautiful," he sighed contentedly, "Just beautiful." He soaked in the view and I joined him at the window. Just to be on the safe side, I checked to make sure that Riptide had found its way back into my pocket. It had. I looked out at the view he was enjoying. Under his breath, so quiet that I wouldn't have been able to hear him had I not been standing next to him, he said, "It's been too long."

He turned away from me and began to walk the perimeter of the room. As he did, I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye and he looked…different. I turned to look at him but as soon as I did he looked just like he had before. He wasn't looking at me so I turned my head sideways to him and tried to study him out of the corner of my eye. When I was not looking directly at him, he seemed to change. He appeared taller and a little stouter. He turned to look at me and I gasped when I saw his hair was as black as the beard that was suddenly on his face. I turned back to him and he looked normal again but I knew what I had seen was not an illusion.

"Dad?" I quietly asked.

"Hello, Percy," he said with a big smile, "I was afraid you would not hear me calling you here." For a second, just a second, his eyes flushed with a sparkling sea-green colour and then they were brown again.

"Dad!" I cried; I could hardly believe it was him. "How did you escape?"

His face fell at that. "I haven't, really," he admitted. "While Kronos is not paying attention I can appear to you here at my seat, in disguise of course, but I am still imprisoned."

"Wait a minute," interrupted him. "Your seat was destroyed. Olympus was razed and your palace, well, I assume that if it's still standing Oceanus must be in control."

"That is probably a safe assumption. However, you are thinking of my throne. I am not talking about a physical seat. Back in Greece this used to be an island called Samos, the Thracian Place. The old island is still around, actually, although these days it is just called Samothrace. It was a special place where I could see my whole kingdom and come to think without being disturbed. I used to keep my chariot there. When we came to America, Nantucket Island became the Seat of Poseidon."

"I saw you," I told him, "I saw you and Zeus and Hades in a dream. You looked…it isn't going well is it?"

Poseidon shook his head, "No. But then Father might have thrown us in Tartarus as we did him. We're not sure why he hasn't, to be honest. I think he's just arrogant. He thinks we're no threat to him." Sorrow clouded his face. "We're probably not. But what happened to you?" he indicated my arm. It was healing quickly thanks to the ambrosia and the nectar but the bandages still looked pretty nasty.

"I had a run in with some sort of sea serpent," I said and related my fight and how I had escaped.

"That was probably Cetus," Poseidon told me. "He used to serve me and I suppose he's under Oceanus' control now. Your namesake actually killed him back in the old days. Did a good job of it, too. It took Cetus nearly a century to reform." He chuckled at the memory but then he clasped my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "Percy, I wish we could talk longer but I do not know how long Kronos' attention will be diverted.

"Listen, Percy; listen closely. You must find the site of my old palace. I know you are having trouble finding your way but it is vital that you find it. Search the grounds. That is where you will find what you seek."

"What am I looking for?"

He looked apologetic but he shook his head. "I dare not tell you more. Should Kronos find you, I can not risk him getting the information out of you." I understood. He stood up hugged me tightly. "Oh, Percy, my son…you have to succeed; everything depends on you right now. But," he paused, "be careful, son. My brothers may not agree but I would rather have you alive and free than dead trying to free us." I didn't know what to say so I just nodded. "I have to go; I can not stay any longer." He ruffled my hair and then he went down the lighthouse stairs. I looked down after him but he was not there anymore.

I walked back down to the beach, ready to take up the quest once more.

- x - x - x - x - x -

It had taken me five days to find my dad's palace, partly because I could not navigate very well and partly because after my run in with Cetus, I was trying to travel much more stealthily than I had before. What I'd found was less a palace and more a field of rubble. Like Olympus and like Camp, my dad's palace had been razed. Wherever Oceanus was staying, it wasn't here. It was good, I decided, because it meant I had free reign to search the grounds without worrying about being discovered. Good thing, too, because there was a lot of area to cover and I still couldn't see very well. I'd been hunting for three or four days, it was hard to keep track of time underwater. This was the longest I'd ever stayed underwater without returning to the surface.

As I geared up for another day of hunting through endless rubble looking for something significant, I once again wished my dad had given me just a little bit of hint as to what I was supposed to be looking for. My arm had healed nicely, though, and that was something to be thankful for. I'd worked out a sort of grid pattern I was trying to follow to make sure I didn't miss any part of the palace. Today I was covering an area in the middle of what used to be the public courtyard of my father's palace. I was about to mark it as clear and move on to the next area when something on the seabed caught my eye. I swam down for a closer look. It seemed to be the top of a rock buried in the sand but on closer inspection I saw something carved in the surface. I put my fingers on the carving and traced it: up, over to the right, and back down. It was the Greek letter pi, 'Π' or, in English, 'P.'

My heart began to beat a bit faster as I realized I might have found what I was looking for. Excitedly I began to dig around the edges of the boulder scribed with my father's initial. The visible surface of the rock was a little larger than a dinner plate. As I cleared silt and sand away from stone I found it was not much larger than I had already been able to see. It was a circle about a foot-and-a-half around and seemed to be nearly flat. I wiggled my fingers under the edges and pulled up to get it out of the sand. I got up a couple of inches but then it caught on something. I got a better grip on it and hauled upwards again. This time, as it came up, I felt a heavy mechanical click vibrate through the stone like I had just pulled a lever somewhere. I bent down and saw, to my surprise, that the stone was tethered to the ocean floor by a heavy rope.

I just barely had time to wonder what that meant when the entire courtyard began to rumble with the unmistakable sound of rock grinding against rock. The sound slowly grew louder and louder and soon I could hear it right below my feet as if something were rising up beneath me. A little nervous, I swam up a few feet off the floor, just in case. It was a good thing I did. A seam appeared in the floor, which I'd thought was just sand and gravel. As the seam widened I saw that the floor was actually two enormous flagstones hidden under sand and gravel. They pulled apart and slowly my prize rose from the depths of the earth.

I stared at it, unable to believe it. It was more than twenty feet tall and glowing an eerie green. It was my father's trident! I reached out, but hesitated, afraid to touch it. Could I wield such a weapon? I was not given the luxury to wonder. I saw a black shape undulating through the sea heading straight for me at a terrible speed. Cetus was back and he looked angry. He had a nasty scar on the side of his neck, where I had stabbed his gills but other than that he looked little the worse for wear despite having tangled with dozens of hungry sharks. Instinct took over and before I could think about what I was doing I grabbed the trident with both hands. As soon as I touched it shrank in my hands until it was just over six feet tall.

As Cetus charged straight for me I swung the trident in an arc and the water answered my command. I was able to command the sea without tapping into my own power and exhausting myself. An invisible wall of water slammed Cetus from the side and threw him to the floor. As he began to get up I levelled the trident at the serpent and spoke a single word, "_Kaio_." Burn. Tendrils of green light leapt from the triple points of the trident and enveloped Cetus. He began to writhe and the water around him began to boil as he cooked alive inside his impenetrable exoskeleton. I could feel the heat on my skin but it did not harm me. It only lasted a few seconds. The monster stopped moving, the water returned to normal, and the blackened husk disintegrated into sand to be carried away on the currents.

I looked at the trident in my hand and I began to grasp how truly powerful it was. On my own, I could only channel so much of the ocean's power without exhausting or killing myself. The trident linked me to the ocean in a way I had never felt before. It was closer, much more intimate. I knew that such power had to attract attention so I decided not to linger more than I already had. As I swam up into the sea I found my navigation sense had returned to me. I set course straight for Long Island and Camp Half-Blood, trident in hand.

* * *

I opened this chapter with an apology for being so late posting and I suppose I should probably close it with a note to any of my readers who may live in or have a particular attachment to Nantucket. I have never had to good fortune to visit Nantucket so please be lenient if you feel I have not accurately described the place. If the old shop keeper's dialect does not seem very Massachusetts in nature, that is probably because, not knowing much about a Massachusetts dialect, I based his character and speech on Seth Hazlitt, from _Murder, She Wrote_. I know that it is said that one ought to stick to writing what he knows but Nantucket's location relative to Manhattan was just perfect to represent the American Samothrace. Then, of course, the fact that Nantucket has such a rich seafaring history was the icing on the cake.


	7. Chapter 6: The Dark Before the Dawn

Big thanks to everybody who left such nice reviews after the last chapter went up. You guys make me blush.

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**Chapter 6 – The Dark Before the Dawn**

I returned to the same place I had left from, the beach of Long Island Sound north of Camp. Dawn was just breaking when I surfaced in the water and saw the shore again. I was almost reluctant to return to land after so long at sea but I was looking forward to having the company of my friends again. Early as it was everything was still, save for the gentle lapping of the water. A silver glow, barely visible in the twilight, lit the beach and I knew Artemis must have sensed me coming. As I drew closer I saw that Chiron also waited for me.

When I was close enough that they could see me, I triumphantly hefted the trident out of the water. Chiron's eyes went wide and he nervously fidgeted in his wheelchair. Artemis actually audibly gasped. Her silver aura faltered and she looked around as though she expected an attack to spring on us. "Percy," Chiron said falteringly, "That's not…what I think it is?" Before I had a chance to answer Chiron, Artemis flung out her arms and began to glow. Instinctively I closed my eyes but a brilliant white light suffused all my vision anyway. I felt dizzy and sick and then the glow faded and I felt fine again. I opened my eyes and found the three of us were standing underground in one of the tunnels off of the main cavern below Camp.

Artemis, usually so calm and composed, was nearly shaking. "Percy!" she hissed in a hoarse whisper, "that is no trifle you wield. I felt you coming from hundreds of leagues away; I only hope that no one else was around who could sense it."

"I am glad to see you alive, my boy," Chiron put in, "and glad that you succeeded in your quest but do not forget that we are in hiding." The reality check was sobering. I hadn't even been thinking about stealth as I tore through the water back to camp. I might have led any number of nasty things right back to us. Chiron saw what I was thinking and added, "But, fortunately, no one seems to have followed you back. Grover and the hunters have been scouring the area around us ever since Artemis sensed you coming and it looks to be clear."

"Unless something followed you by sea," Artemis added, a question evident in her voice without her actually asking it.

"Nothing was anywhere near me in the sea," I answered confidently. "The life in the ocean is greatly diminished, nearly gone. If there'd been anything tailing me, I would've felt it even without the trident's help." I looked at the trident which moments before had seemed to be our salvation. Now it might be the instrument of our doom. "Can we even keep the trident here?" I asked. "Or is it too dangerous?"

"We should be safe as long as the trident remains underground," replied Chiron and Artemis agreed. She seemed to be regaining her composure after the earlier shock.

A thought occurred to me. I turned it over in my mind; I didn't like it but it was probably a good idea. "My lady, this weapon may be beyond my ability," I held out the trident to Artemis. "Perhaps you should be the one to wield it." It stung just to say it. I was the son of the sea god; it felt right that I should hold a part of his kingdom. Besides that, the trident belonged to my father. It was all I had left of him now, maybe the last thing I would ever get from him, and I wanted to keep it. I waited for Artemis to take it from me.

She smiled and gently pushed my hand back toward me. "That you should make such an offer shows a great strength of character, Percy Jackson, but I can not accept nor would I if I could. Only a child of the ocean can wield Poseidon's trident. In my hands, it would be nothing more than a spear. As the last free-standing member of your father's family, the trident is your birthright to wield until Poseidon or Triton are freed once more."

"But perhaps, my lady," Chiron said, "you can help Percy conceal the trident. I think it might be best if knowledge of this was kept among the three of us."

"I've got to tell Grover," I protested. "If Artemis sensed me coming, he probably did, too, through our empathy link. He's going to know I found something out there."

"The Lord of the Wild should be told," Artemis agreed, "as should my lieutenant, Thalia. The Oracle, of course, will know soon if she does not already. But I agree that the fewer people who know of this, the better. Unfortunately I can not help conceal the trident. Percy, however, can do it himself." I recalled the times I had met the gods one-on-one and remembered that they were able to shape their symbols of power into other forms. "Focus on the trident," Artemis told me, "and think of the form you would like it to take."

I considered for a moment trying to think of a suitable form. I got an idea—something I could easily conceal but could still carry into battle without encumbering myself. The trident began to shape itself in my hand and soon I was holding a large gauntlet. I slipped it on my right hand and flexed my fingers experimentally. It had a large bronze vambrace that covered most of my forearm. The bronze was aged with a patina that made it more green than bronze-coloured. Etched onto the surface was an image of a wave breaking on a rock and splashing up toward my wrist. Just above the wrist was the symbol of the trident glowing slightly. Attached to the vambrace was a heavy leather glove that had articulated plating of the same bronze attached on the backs of the hand and fingers. As I curled my hand into a fist and opened it again the glove moved with me like a second layer of skin, perfectly tailored to my hand.

"An excellent choice," Artemis said approvingly, "practical and functional."

"If a touch anachronistic," Chiron added arching an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "I just thought, 'glove;' it did the rest."

Chiron let the matter rest. "Well, much as I would like to hear all about your journey," he said, "now that you are back we ought to call another council to decide what our next course action shall be. You can relate your story then. Of course," he looked to Artemis, "it will raise questions if Percy emerges from the tunnels before anyone actually sees him returning."

"Naturally," she agreed. Artemis raised a hand toward me and I began to feel nauseated again. My vision was filled with a brilliant white glow and then I was standing alone at the bottom of the stairs that led down from the surface. Removing the glove and slipping it into my pack, I picked a torch from the wall and started down the tunnel that led to the main cavern. I emerged into the flickering light of the camp soon had a crowd of campers and hunters milling around me. Of course, they all wanted to know if I had found 'the greatest of prizes.' I just told them that I had learned what I needed to learn. Soon I arrived at Chiron's tent where he greeted me as though he had not seen me since I left for the quest. True to his word, Chiron called a council, sending runners out to retrieve the senior counsellors who weren't already there. Shortly afterward Artemis, Thalia, and Rachel arrived as well.

Artemis congratulated me on a job well done. Rachel gave me a big hug. Thalia took me aside. "Do you have it with you?" she asked excitedly in a low voice. "Can I see it?" I took my pack off my shoulder and opened it between us so she could see the gauntlet resting inside. She glanced up at me and she finally looked like the Thalia I remembered from our adventures before the Battle of Manhattan. "This changes everything," she said. "We just might have a shot at pulling this off." Chiron called us to order and I zipped my pack shut again.

The first order of business was for me to relate the events of the past week. I summed up as best I could until I got to my search of Poseidon's palace. I wasn't sure how to proceed without giving away more than Chiron wanted me to. But Chiron was ready and smoothly stepped in when I got to that part. He addressed the group saying, "I'm sure you all understand the need for secrecy these days, now more than ever. Suffice to say Percy succeeded in his quest." Some of the council looked a little miffed at not being told everything but everybody understood the reasons for the secrecy.

Following my tale, we launched into a full-blown war council strategizing, planning, and plotting our course of action. Chiron's tent was practically humming with nervous energy and built-up tension. Everybody knew that, one way or another, this would all be ending soon. While I had been out on my quest, Artemis, Chiron, and Grover had not been idle. Every agent in the field, hunter, camper, and satyr alike, had been recalled to Camp. Artemis had risked leaving the safety of the underground shelter, travelling disguised and in secret to "undisclosed locations" worldwide to collect allies who had survived Kronos' reign of terror. Over the next several days our ranks swelled and the cavern became so crowded that we expanded into the adjoining tunnels as more and more able bodies joined our ranks. Amongst the new recruits were some minor gods and goddesses, dryads and naiads and other nature spirits who risked their lives by travelling far from their home woods and waters, and more satyrs than I had known existed. It was the largest army that had been assembled in the name of Olympus since the Battle of Manhattan.

The war council lasted all day and into the night, breaking only for meals. Unlike our last meeting nobody was arguing. Disagreements were settled by level-headed discussion instead of loud debate. This time we were all agreed on our ultimate goal; facing its sheer enormity had everybody subdued. Even Thalia refrained from snapping at anybody who disagreed with her. Chiron and Artemis, our most experienced strategists, had the final say on our plans. Watching them work together on war plans was dizzying at times. Drawing on millennia of experience in wars mortal and immortal, they anticipated all possibilities and outcomes. At times the rest of us would just sit around the table like spectators at a tennis match trying to keep up with the rapid fire back-and-forth exchanges between the two in Ancient Greek as often as in English.

When we finally concluded and left for our various tents, I was too exhausted to do anything but collapse onto my bedroll. We had decided that speed was of the essence; now that everything was in place, all we'd accomplish by delaying was allowing Kronos more time to discover our plans. We were going to begin moving out tomorrow. Moving an army like ours from one end of the United States to the other would be impossible without attracting Kronos' attention so we were splitting into small groups and taking many diverse routes. If any one group was caught, they would not have the numbers to fight or escape but the rest of the army wouldn't be endangered. Everything hinged on the element of surprise. To keep our most powerful assets secret as long as possible Artemis, the hunters, and I would be teleporting in (or whatever the Olympians called that disappearing/reappearing thing they did) at the last moment.

I kicked off my shoes and tried to sleep but even though my body was exhausted my mind was too keyed up to sleep. After tossing and turning for a while, I gave up and wandered out of my tent to take a late stroll around the cavern. Before too long, I heard gentle music being softly played on a set of reed pipes and I began to wander in the direction of the garden. There I found Grover playing a song to the plants. He looked up at me but didn't stop playing and I didn't interrupt him.

I sat beside my friend and listened to his music. It was not like the usual nature blessings I heard him play. The music was soft and slow but so powerful. I closed my eyes and let the music wash over my soul. It was in a minor key, almost melancholy, but listening to it I couldn't help but feel hope welling in my heart. The music stopped with a final discordant chord resolving into a harmony and I opened my eyes. "That was beautiful," I said.

"Thanks, I wrote it for Juniper, you know, in memory of her." He looked out at the garden and I think the mosses actually looked a little greener and the mushrooms a little…I don't know…mushroomier. "And I wanted to say good-bye to the plants." Grover was going to be in one of the first groups to leave tomorrow. Seven years ago I would've thought that saying good-bye to plants was really weird. Now I knew better.

"Be careful out there, buddy," I told him, "I'd hate to have to save the world without you."

"Like you'd have a chance without me," he jostled me with his shoulder. We sat together a while longer chatting about our upcoming plans, old adventures and friends, and anything else that we felt like. When we finally parted ways, I returned to my tent and my exhaustion finally overcame my nerves.

- x - x - x - x - x -

The days that followed passed very slowly. Camp was pretty much empty except for Artemis and the hunters. We all tried to keep ourselves busy so we wouldn't be thinking about what could be happening to all our friends. The hunters and I would run through training exercises and drills for hours until they all had to break for food and water, then Thalia and I would continue training alone. Only Artemis seemed not to mind the waiting. Her white and silver tent was set apart from the rest of camp. She stayed in her tent the entire time, never leaving. Thalia said that she was just sitting on a cushion in the middle of the floor meditating. What was going on inside Artemis' head was anybody's guess, but from the outside she seemed to be the picture of serene calm.

Almost a week later, the big day was almost at hand. It was night on the eve of our departure and I should've been getting ready to leave the next morning. Instead I was staring at the armour hanging in the corner of my tent. It was the same armour I'd worn into battle the last time I'd faced Kronos. I picked up the breastplate, turned it over, and ran my fingers over the fresh leather strap on the back. Chiron had wanted me to get a new breastplate because the straps on this one had been sliced open when I had been stabbed in the back. I'd refused and insisted on getting new straps installed. I'm not sure why I didn't want to get new armour. So much of my old world had disappeared during the two years I spent in a coma; I was learning to draw comfort from the things that hadn't changed.

Ever since I woke up in the House of Life, I had spent practically all my time training and fighting and working and doing everything I could to stay busy. As I stood in my tent staring at my armour, I realized that I had been running. I worked so hard and did so much because I did not want to face the truth that haunted me, lurking at the edges of my mind. All our plans, all our grand strategies, had little hope of succeeding. If they failed…if I failed, then Annabeth would be condemned to Kronos' control forever; and it was my fault. I sank to the floor, clutching the piece of armour like a child clings to a security blanket. My shield laid next me polished so perfectly that I could see my reflection in it. Except it wasn't my reflection that stared back at me from the depths of the metal but Annabeth's.

Her face was lined and haggard, smudged with dirt and tears. I couldn't see her eyes because they were hidden by the hair hanging in her face but I knew they were filled with hurt and betrayal. Her lips were moving were moving and I heard her voice, small and quavering, "Why, Percy? Why didn't you save me? You could have saved us all but you didn't. Why did you let him take me?" It was too much. With an inhuman cry I threw the breastplate at the shield, toppling it so I couldn't see the image any more. I tried to find control of my emotions but my heart was as wild and turbulent as the ocean in a storm. I shook with rage and sorrow and fear as I sobbed through my tears.

Just when I thought I could take no more, I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. My emotions calmed and I felt a peace I'd not known since waking from my coma. I looked up into the eyes of Artemis. "Forgive the intrusion," she said quietly, "your turmoil was disturbing me. And," she smiled kindly and, just for a moment, reminded me of my mother even though she only looked twelve, "I was worried about you."

I wiped my eyes and sat up, "I'm sorry, my lady. I was just…I was…" I wasn't sure what to say.

Artemis sat down next to me. "I know," she said. "And I think you know that what happened to Annabeth is not your fault." I didn't answer. I knew she was right but I couldn't escape the feeling that I was somehow responsible. "If you go through life blaming yourself for everything that does not go according to plan, your life will be a very miserable one indeed."

I started to reply, "But-"

"But nothing, Percy Jackson. Annabeth's capture is no more your fault than it is my fault that the gods could not defeat Typhon."

I looked at the goddess in surprise and then in sympathy. "It's easy to forget that the Olympians are more than just a governing body. They're your family, too."

Artemis nodded and a single glistening tear appeared at the corner of her eye and slid down her pale cheek. "My father, my brothers and sisters, all the people I am closest to are being held by Kronos. I, too, fear the outcome if we are not successful tomorrow but we accomplish nothing by worrying."

It probably violated every rule of decorum in the book but I couldn't help myself. I gave Artemis a hug. To my surprise, she returned it before standing up to leave. "Thank you for coming by, my lady."

"It was my pleasure, Perseus." Artemis stepped out of my tent and I found myself thinking about my own family. I had been so focused on Kronos lately, I had nearly forgotten about my own mother. Lighting a lamp, I reached into my pack I pulled out some paper and a pen—a real pen, not Riptide—and began to write.

_Dear Mom,_

_I told you I had to leave so I could set things right again. Now, I have a chance to do just that. It hasn't been easy and it isn't going to get any easier but this is something I have to do. I wish I could just stay with you and Paul and never leave again but that isn't an option. You can see through the mist; you can see the true state of the world and how dead it is. Everything the Olympians represented, everything Dad fought for, is gone. But I can bring it back again._

_Annabeth is alive, Mom; I know she's alive and I know where she is. I can't leave her to suffer. She was put at the centre of all of this because she is my closest friend. Two years ago there was nothing I could do to save her and Kronos thought he won. He may not even know it but Annabeth was the key to his victory and I will move heaven and earth and shatter the very foundations of Tartarus to free her once more. I am the son of the earth-shaker and I intend to live up to my father's name._

_I do not know what will happen if I succeed. I do know that if I succeed it will not be because of my own efforts. I want you to know that I'm not alone. I'm with friends who will stand by me to the end. Very soon this will all be over. Either Kronos will be defeated or the last resistance to his dominion will be vanquished. If you don't hear from me within a month of the day you receive this letter, then you will know which way the battle went._

_Be safe, Mom. For me._

_Your loving son,_

_Perseus_

After signing my name, I sealed the letter in an envelope which I stamped and addressed to my mother. Even though Camp was gone, there was still a mailbox at 3.141 Farm Hill Road. Every day a post office truck came out, opened it, found nothing, and left again. I wondered what the postman would think tomorrow when he found a letter waiting for delivery. When I returned underground, I nearly ran into Rachel at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Hey, Percy," she said, "How's it going?" Thalia was right behind Rachel and I began to smell a set-up. Rachel confirmed my suspicion, adding, "Artemis said you could maybe use some company."

"Well," I answered, "I wouldn't say no to hanging out with some friends."

Thalia nodded in understanding, "I suspect most of us won't be sleeping tonight anyway."

Rachel suddenly stopped walking. "I've got a great idea!" she exclaimed. Thalia and I waited for her to elaborate. Instead she just said, "Follow me!" Curious, Thalia and I followed. Rachel led us to the centre of the cavern, near Chiron's tent, to the fire pit. The fire was out but there was wood and kindling arranged in the pit just waiting to be lit. Rachel looked back at us, "C'mon, Thalia, light it up."

Thalia reached out close to the wood and a spark like a powerful static shock leapt from her fingers to the kindling. The kindling burst into flame and soon the larger logs were following suit. "All right, Rachel," Thalia said, "why did I just do that?"

Rachel's face lit up as she answered, "You're always telling me about the sing-alongs you used to have around the fire at camp. I think it's high time that tradition was restarted."

"But there's just the three of us," I pointed out.

"Just start singing," Rachel said rolling her eyes, "Trust me." Thalia and I started singing awkwardly. Rachel joined us, urging us to sing louder. As we sang hunters began to drift in and join us from around the cavern. Soon there was a whole gang of us singing songs old and new. Even Artemis came down from her tent and sat with us, although she did not join in the singing. I had to admit this had been a good idea. As the night passed on in the world above, the cavern below rang with our voices.

I awoke early the next morning, by the smouldering embers of the fire. Some of us had gotten tired and left for their tents but most had simply sung until they finally fell asleep right where they were. I stood up, stretched, and tiptoed away because most of the hunters were still asleep. Artemis must have returned to her tent because she was absent. I, too, went back to my tent and went to the armour in the corner. I buckled it on one piece at a time until I was once again kitted out in full Greek battle armour. I reached into my pocket, pulled out my pen, and removed its cap to turn it into Riptide, which I slid into my belt. I had decided to wear it openly instead of hiding it in my pocket. There was to be nothing stealthy about this mission once it started. On an impulse I reached for the bundle of linen clothes Amos had given me before I left the House of Life. I untied it and drew out the steel dagger that had nearly killed me. Feeling defiant, I slipped in my belt opposite Riptide. Last of all I reached for my pack and pulled out the gauntlet. Even deep underground I could feel the presence of the ocean when I slid the heavy glove over my hand.

I made my way back down to the centre of camp where I found Artemis assembling her hunters. She saw me coming and addressed me, "With your arrival, I believe we are ready to depart. Unless you have need to stay?" I certainly had no such need and said so. Artemis nodded and told us all to get ready. Once more I felt a sickening lurch in my stomach and my vision filled with brilliant white. And then we were standing in a small valley between the east and west peaks of Mount Tamelpais, about half a mile away from the east peak and the Titan fortress.

Some of our army had already arrived and had grouped not far away and we could see more coming up the hill. The hunters and I made our way to our friends and I found Grover. We said little as our rag-tag group of rebels assembled for battle. I think everybody felt something was missing. Chiron, who'd held us all together and kept us focused on our goal, couldn't be here because he couldn't leave his wheelchair. He had come along to organize everybody in the city and make sure we all found our way to Mount Tamelpais but that was as far as he had been able to come. Without him, we felt leaderless. Even though Artemis had every right to take command she had always deferred to Chiron. As the last of our group arrived Grover turned to me. "Percy, they need someone to take charge." I didn't really know what I planned to do but I got up on a rock so everybody could see me.

"Okay!" I called out, "Listen up, everybody." I got the attention of some of those close to me but most of the group couldn't hear me. "Hey!" I tried again but got no better results. Suddenly a bolt of lightning jumped from one cloud to another above us and a deafening thunderclap shook the air, silencing everyone. I looked at Thalia and she smiled mischievously, gesturing for me to continue.

"We all know what we're here to do," I shouted. This time I had everybody's complete attention. Artemis and Grover stood to either side of me. "Everybody knows what their job is today. But as we fight I want us all to remember why we're fighting. Every one of us has lost friends or family to the tyrant Kronos. For two years he has dominated the land and crushed any who resist under his heel. For two years he has believed himself safe. Today we change that! Today we take back what he has taken from us! Today we make sure that not one more person ever suffers under him as we have suffered!" I drew Riptide from my belt and thrust it into the air. When I gripped Riptide with the gauntlet, my sword began to burn with green fire. **"NEVER AGAIN!****!**" I thundered. The air sang with the sound of metal scraping against metal as more swords were unsheathed and held aloft.

"Strike down the tyrant for your mothers and fathers, for your brothers and sisters! Strike for your freedom! Strike for Olympus!" I jumped off the stone and started running up the road that wound around the mountainside between us and fortress. The earth shook under our feet as my friends started after me. We did not slow when Othrys came into view. Nor did we slow when we saw the first of Kronos' soldiers appear on the walls of the massive black fortress. Running as fast and as hard as I could I shouted out and the army took up the cry until the valley echoed with our voices.

"**FOR OLYMPUS!****!****!****!"**

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I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I've enjoyed writing it. It has been difficult but, at risk of sounding egotistical, I am quite pleased with the result. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Now, to employ a bad cliché, stay tuned for the exciting conclusion.


	8. Chapter 7: Journey's End

Apologies once again for the long delay in getting this up. I had just begun this chapter when my computer crashed and I lost the first couple of pages. It took a bit of time to get up and running again and then it took quite a bit more time to get this chapter polished. I think it turned out all right, though. The title for this chapter comes, once again, from the BBC's "Doctor Who." I did not realize it until I was just finishing up this chapter but this entire story actually has some close parallels to one of the "Doctor Who" series finales (ironically, not the series I have pulled the titles from) so it seemed fitting to use another title from the show.

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**Chapter 7 – Journey's End**

As our army neared the imposing edifice of Othrys several smaller groups, including most of Artemis' hunters, splintered off of the main body and formed ranks in any open area they could find. They drew bows and began to fire volleys into the soldiers atop the walls. Kronos' troops began to return fire in kind targeting both our archers and our foot soldiers. Some of us fell but we continued to surge toward the massive gates of the fortress. To my surprise there weren't even very many archers on the walls. They probably assumed they could pick us off at their leisure while we swarmed around the base of the walls. Under normal circumstances they would've been right.

The doors of Othrys were shut tight, barring our entry to the fortress. As we approached, Artemis ran up beside me, not even struggling to keep pace with me while I was running as hard as I could. We looked at each other and I nodded. Without breaking her stride Artemis drew out her silver bow and removed three arrows from her quiver. Nocking all three into her bow at once she drew back the string until her fingers were almost touching the corner of her eye and the bow was nearly bent double. Despite running at a breakneck pace she held the bow perfectly still, aiming and looking for a perfect shot. As she held the arrows they began to glow with a pure white radiance that was blinding to look at. Our army was nearly at the gates. Artemis slowed and fell behind me. I moved Riptide to my off hand and put on a burst of speed. As I ran up to the mighty gates I curled my gauntleted hand tightly into a fist. The arrows of Artemis struck the top of the gates at the same moment I struck the bottom with everything I had.

I felt the shockwave from the strike run through my body. The gates trembled for a moment and then fell off their hinges. Our army surged inside the fortress, taking the troops there large by surprise. I turned around to congratulate Artemis but the goddess was no longer there. I looked around for her but she was nowhere to be seen. I was getting ready to panic until I saw an enormous grey and white falcon streak out of the sky and begin to pick the enemy archers off the walls. The enemy quickly redirected their fire to the great bird but a single beat of its wings swept all their arrows aside. I smiled and ran to catch up with my friends. Artemis could handle herself for a while.

I ran through the arch where Othrys' gates had once stood and joined the fighting in the courtyard. As I fought my way toward the far side of the courtyard I felt strangely calm. Riptide was a flaming green whirlwind around me striking down my enemies and sparing my allies. I used my shield as a club as often as I used it to block enemy blows. But my mind was calm. It was like I was detached from the carnage around me. Maybe it was my father's trident working with the curse of Achilles. Maybe it was because I was fighting to save Annabeth. Whatever the reason, I was calm and alert to everything happening around me.

_Kronos' army is pouring out of every door into the courtyard. We caught them unawares with a surprise attack but the element of surprise has worn off and Kronos is throwing everything he has against us. Surprisingly, everything he has seems to be mostly monsters, a few giants, and some minor gods. There are no demigods and certainly none of the Titans themselves. Fortunately for us, Kronos' rise to power has left him rather paranoid. He trusts none of his siblings and keeps them far removed from Othrys lest they get the idea of planning a coup of their own._

_I see Grover struggling against two Scythian dracanae. He frantically plays his pipes and tries to tangle them up in poisonous vines but they keep slithering out before he can trap them. I level Riptide at the snake women and with a thought they dissolve into sand on the wind._

_The sky thunders and a bolt of lightening strikes a giant who is staring in paralyzed fear at the head of the gorgon on Thalia's shield. The giant falls down and begins to seize violently until a second bolt of lightening turns him into a whirlwind of dust._

_One by one soldiers fall from the top of the wall. A falcon swoops down and carries two of them off in its talons to drop them far to the floor of the courtyard below. The archers, much fewer in number now than before, scan the sky for some glimpse of the terror from above only to gasp in surprise when a pale gazelle charges out of a guardhouse and knocks another soldier to his death. Before they can recover, the gazelle leaps toward them but when it lands it is no longer a gazelle. Another soldier cries out in terror before he is silenced by the claws of a fierce white leopard. The leopard leaps off of the walls just as a spear lands where it stood seconds before and the falcon soars up again._

_Even though we fight with an indomitable spirit, we face indomitable numbers. We are holding our line fast in courtyard but we are not gaining any ground. Every time we fell an enemy two more come up to take its place. The courtyard inside the gates is a bottleneck keeping Kronos' troops from overwhelming us but it is only a matter of time until they kill enough of us to break through our line._

I looked around at the friends fighting alongside me. I realized that I couldn't let them give their lives in a futile attempt to overthrow Kronos. No one knew how deep Othrys delved underground. There could be nearly infinite numbers of troops waiting to swarm up to meet us. A crazy idea struck me. It was absurd and it would probably kill me. But if I pulled it off… I had to try. I began to move laterally through our line until I was standing next to Grover. I finished off his opponent and gripped his shoulder. "Grover, get everybody out of here."

"What?" His eyes opened wide in shock. "We're retreating!"

"No, but I want Kronos to think we are."

"Percy, what are you planning?"

I gave him what I hoped passed for a confident grin. "Trust me," I clapped him on the back, "Now get our army to safety." Grover didn't look to sure of me but he nodded and began to pass the word along.

"My hunters and I shall stay to ensure you are not followed."

I jumped at Artemis' unexpected appearance by my side. "Thank you, my lady." Artemis nodded. "I have to leave now; I'll rejoin you and the hunters as soon as I can. But I suggest you keep your hunters to the high east walls." Artemis made no reply. She simply leapt into the air and soared up as a falcon to return the fight to Kronos' archers. How she communicated with her hunters I do not know but I saw them began to make their way up stairs and scale towers. Satisfied that they would be safe I joined our army's retreat through the gates. Once we were out of Othrys I instructed Grover to ignore the road, head east, and reunite with Chiron once they were sure they weren't followed.

"Aren't you coming, Percy?" he asked.

"No."

Grover's expression grew serious as he realized what I was saying. "But, Percy, you can't do this alone."

I sheathed Riptide. "I'm not alone. Artemis and the hunters are staying. And you're always with me," I tapped my temple, "with our empathy link." Grover didn't look satisfied. In fact he looked close to tears. I looked at the glove on my hand. "And my father is with me."

Grover closed his eyes and hung his head. His shoulders shook for a moment and I knew he was trying not to cry. When he looked back up at me, he seemed older with a gravitas about him that I had not seen before. "It's been an honour, Percy. No matter what happens today, I'm going to make sure that your name is never forgotten." He turned and left with the rest of the army.

I looked back to the glove on my hand. "Well," I said to it, "let's see what we can do, shall we?" I focused and the glove blurred and stretched back into a trident about a foot taller than I was. I began to run. I ran southwest ignoring the roads and trails blazing a straight line across the land. My feet moved faster and faster until soon I was leaping more than running, covering yards in a single step. In no time at all I had made it the four miles from Othrys to the ocean coast. I stood there for a second catching my breath and watching the waves lap on the shoreline. The waves rolled in and slid back out in a never-ending cycle. I walked out to the water and stood where it could just lap at my feet.

I could feel power humming through the trident as I reconnected with the ocean. I raised the trident and held it horizontal over the shore beneath me. It was heavy but I drew my strength not from my own body but the mighty ocean. I focused my mind and concentrated on the sea, closing my eyes and shutting out all distraction. A wave rolled in and took sand from beneath my feet as it rolled out, burrowing my feet in a couple inches of sand. Another wave came in and I sunk a couple more inches as it went out. Once more a wave slid up the beach…and stayed. Another wave flowed up the sandy shore and did not roll out. I opened my eyes and turned to face Mount Tamalpais.

Wave after wave after wave rolled up to the beach and was caught in my grip. With each wave I captured, I was able to draw more water into the massive breaker forming at the foot of the shore. Soon the shore was a roiling mass of churning water more than thirty feet high. I stood atop the mighty wave holding it in check and preventing it from crashing on the land as it wanted to. I knew I was taxing the limits of my body. My limbs were weary, my blood burned with a painful fire as I channelled power that no mortal was meant to possess. My face contorted in a painful grimace as I drew even more water into my tidal wave.

Time was meaningless. I was aware only of the agony coursing through my veins and the power building up beneath me. Standing atop the wave I now towered hundreds of feet over the beach. The force I was holding in check was immense but it was not enough. Not enough for what I needed—but I could endure the pain no longer. I was ready to give up when the pain lessened and my mind cleared. A rush of pride and love swept through my pain-addled mind and I heard a familiar voice. _Percy, my son, let me help._ "Father, no!" I gasped. "He'll know what you're doing." _That no longer matters._ My father added his strength to my own and the pain rushed out of me. The ocean surged in response to its former master. The water beneath me rose at an astonishing rate until I was half-a-mile in the air, looking across the gulf to Othrys itself.

"Thanks, Dad," I said. I felt alarm echo from my father. _Percy! I-_ And he was gone. Kronos must have intervened somehow. My father's help was gone and suddenly I was holding back all the water by myself. I nearly passed out from the pain but my father's help had been enough to get me what I needed. I let out a primal scream from deep within my being and released the force beneath me. The tsunami surged inland wiping out everything in its path. I fell into the water and let myself be carried along by the wave. It took about thirty seconds for the supernatural force of nature to reach Othrys. I moved back to the top of the wave, riding the crest, and when I reached the walls of Othrys I leapt off of the wave in a swan dive holding the trident in front of me. I hit the ground at the base of the fortress walls. The trident struck the ground and embedded itself there. The earth was just beginning to shake when the wave broke on the fortress walls.

The entire mountain shook with the force of the earthquake. The black marble of Othrys spiderwebbed with cracks. The tsunami broke through the walls like they were made of tissue paper. The water burst into the courtyard and the courtyard glowed gold as hundreds of monsters burst into sand beneath the wave. I stood in a cleft in the west wall as the water rushed over me. I held out the trident and the east wall stood fast. Instead of breaking out of the fortress, the water was trapped inside. It poured into every crack and crevice, breaking doors, smashing barriers, and flooding the fortress from the inside and flowing deep into its forgotten caverns. Artemis and her hunters stood alone on the east wall. The wave finally stopped coming and the water receded from the courtyard.

I stood alone on the marble flagstones of the courtyard. Silence reigned. Kronos' army was routed but I knew that we had not won yet. I looked up at the great citadel that towered above the rest of the fortress. It was protected by many doors which were all smashed open. Only the door at the base of the citadel itself stood intact. As I watched, it slowly creaked open revealing a flight of stairs within. Artemis was beside me again. "Apparently," she said, "we are to be granted an audience." The hunters were descending from the east wall to join their mistress. I saw that there number had shrunk considerably in the time I had been gone. A pang of sorrow gripped me when I realized that Thalia was not among them.

I buried my sorrow under my rage. "Well, let's not keep him waiting," I said and began to march to the citadel. The hunters joined me and slowly we all made our way up the stairs to the top of the citadel. At the top I found another pair of doors. These ones were closed.

"Now what?" I asked. "Knock and see if he's home?" Nobody answered me. I turned to the hunters but they weren't moving. They were all frozen in place.

Artemis came up behind me. "It seems Kronos wishes to see you alone."

"But you're not frozen," I protested. "Can't you come with me?"

"I am only unaffected by my grandfather's power because I am a goddess. He is trying to subdue me and it is taking a great deal of effort to resist." It was odd. On the outside Artemis seemed as unperturbed as she always did. You'd never know she was struggling against a Titan on the inside. "I think you had best go alone," she finished and then she, too, froze. The doors in front of me slowly creaked open.

I slowly walked into Kronos' throne room. It was narrow but about fifty feet long and lined with pillars. Unlike Olympus there were no statues, no great art, only braziers burning with fire. At the end of the hall on a throne sat Kronos. I had never met Kronos face-to-face; when we had met before he was still using a host body—Luke Castellan, my former friend. I wasn't sure what to expect. I figured Kronos would be old, with a long beard, kind of like Zeus. The man I saw sitting on a throne at the end of the hall was young and good-looking. He appeared to be in the prime of his life, maybe thirty years old, clean-shaven with long curly hair. Despite his appearance of youth, his hair was snow white. He wore a loose-fitting purple chiton which draped over his muscular frame and held a scythe in his right hand. His glowing golden eyes turned to me and he smiled cruelly. "Perseus Jackson," he said in a deep voice that resonated through the hall.

I said nothing; I only glared at him and stopped a good distance away from him. I planted the trident firmly beside me and the hall shook a little bit. The tile the trident hit cracked. Kronos chuckled. "You have accomplished much, little godling."

"I had good help."

"That you did. My son will suffer for what he has done to aid you. You may be sure I will see to that."

"You could vaporize me here and now by revealing your divine form. Why am I still here?"

"Straight to the point, I see. Dying has hardened you. You are still here because I want to see you broken. Where's the fun in killing you outright? Much more interesting to make you suffer first."

"I've had enough of this," I growled. "It's time to end this." I launched at Kronos, trident raised high to strike but it never met its mark. As I swung the trident down a blade blocked me and twisted my strike to the side. It was not Kronos who had blocked me. I looked down the blade into the face of Annabeth.

She was not dirty, haunted, and tear-stained as I had imagined her. She was beautiful and healthy. Her hair glistened in the firelight and her face was fierce. "Annabeth?" I was confused, why was she protecting Kronos? I looked into her eyes and saw nothing. Her eyes, once a beautiful stormy grey, were clouded over and filmy. And they were empty. Horrified I remembered the words of the Telekhines when I had spied on them forging Kronos' scythe. "Careful, fool. One touch and the blade will sever your soul from your body."

Annabeth drew back her sword and launched a counterstrike at me. I stepped back but she pressed her attack. I blocked and parried but I couldn't find it in myself to strike back. This was why Kronos had not killed me. His malevolent laughter rang through the hall. "I found her hiding in New York right after I rose from Tartarus," he told me. "I was suspicious of your 'death' so I hung on to her…I figured she might come in handy some day." My heart ached to be so close to Annabeth but yet so far away. I could blast her with the trident and end this in a heartbeat…except I couldn't. I couldn't hurt her.

"But this wasn't supposed to happen," I cried. "It was prophesied!"

"Tricky things, prophecies," Kronos laughed. "You never know quite what they mean until they come to pass." I caught Annabeth's blade in the trident and twisted it out of her hands. It went spinning across the marble floor. Annabeth stood for a second, malice twisting her face into a mask of hatred. My heart broke. I couldn't fight her. The trident melted back into a glove on my hand. Annabeth charged at me with her bare hands and I made no attempt to stop her. She slammed into me with her shoulder and I flew back into a pillar. My head cracked against the stone and stars shot through my vision. I fell to floor unconscious.

I opened my eyes and saw nothing but pure white light. I stood up and looked around, nothing but white everywhere I looked. I glanced down and saw that I was no longer in battle armour. I was wearing jeans and my orange Camp Half-Blood tee-shirt. I couldn't see my feet because of a mist that swirled around me. "What is this?" I said aloud. "Where am I?"

"Nowhere. Anywhere. Everywhere." replied a voice behind me. I whirled and found a white-robed figure behind me. He was wearing a hood and I couldn't see his face but his voice sounded familiar.

"What do you mean? What is this place?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But I've been stuck here for two years, waiting for you to arrive. I'm supposed to redeem myself, so I'm told."

"Who are you?" The stranger reached up and pushed back his hood. "LUKE!"

Luke Castellan grinned back at me. "In the flesh," he felt his arm, "I think. Hard to know anymore."

"But you're dead. You had to die for Kronos to rise."

"You're supposed to be dead, too. Two years ago. Remember?" I didn't trust him. He had betrayed everything Olympus stood for. He helped Kronos rise and tried to kill me on several occasions. "When I died, my spirit tried to go to the Underworld but three weird old ladies stopped me. I was supposed to redeem myself, they said, but that chance had been taken from me. They took me here and said I had to wait for you, to give you a message."

"What message?"

Luke stepped toward me and put his hand on my shoulder. "You know what you have to do."

"What?"

"The source must be freed, Percy. Your feelings have to be put aside…you know what must be done." His words struck at my core. Deep inside I had been afraid that it would come to this but I had refused to give voice to the fear. I buried it and told myself it couldn't be true.

In a small voice I whispered, "Is this real? Or am I dreaming?"

"It's as real as you want it to be."

I frowned and looked at Luke. "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard."

"I saw it in a movie once. It didn't make much sense then, either." I rolled my eyes. Suddenly I doubled over, clutching my side. A sharp pain was shooting through my side. "Our time is almost over, Percy," Luke said. "Do what you have to." The white faded to black and pain shot through my side again.

I opened my eyes and just in time to see Annabeth aim another kick at my ribs. I moaned, coughed, and rolled over. "Ah, he's awake again." That was Kronos. Annabeth went to kick me again but I caught her foot and pulled her off balance. She fell to the ground and I got up, kneeling over her.

Tears rolled down my face. "I'm sorry," I softly told her. "I'm so, so sorry." I cupped her face in my gauntleted hand.

"**NO!**" Kronos thundered from his throne. "You couldn't!" Before I could think about what I was doing I drew Riptide from my belt and slid it into her side. Kronos howled in rage but it was too late.

The clouds cleared in Annabeth's eyes. She coughed and her body twitched in my arms. She looked into my eyes. "Percy," she sighed. "Percy…" a rivulet of blood trickled from the side of her mouth. I clutched her to me and heard her breath growing shallower. Her lips were moving but only the barest whisper came out. "Thank you." Then there was a rattle in her chest and she was gone. Kronos lunged from his throne, scythe in the air, but before he could reach me he was stopped by an unseen force and yanked back into his throne. Several strange hieroglyphs floated up from Annabeth and faded into nothingness. Wind began to howl and a storm of glowing energy began to spin around us. Kronos raged against the force but even the mighty Titan was held at bay by whatever this was. The storm closed in around us and the throne room was ripped apart chunk by chunk. Little by little the cyclone of crackling energy shrank until all that remained was Kronos, Annabeth, and I. As the whorling vortex closed over Kronos he vanished with a howl. I clutched Annabeth as hard as I could. I knew I was going to die but I didn't care. Not after what I had done. My hand began to burn and the gauntlet disappeared in a burst of green fire. Then the eye of the storm closed and everything went black.


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**One Year After the Battle of Manhattan:**

Annabeth gasped as the strange furry creature gripped her arm. Somehow the creature had reopened the old wound. Her blood began to drip onto the ground below. "But…how…?" Annabeth's vision began to go black at the edges. Her voice barely came out as a whisper, "H-h-help."

Then the pressure on her arm was gone. She looked down and the wound was completely healed again. The creature had a strangely blank look on his face. Annabeth looked behind him and saw Percy in full Greek battle armour, Riptide in his hand. The creature pitched forward and fell on the ground, a small steel dagger protruding from his back. The creature vanished in a puff of sand and the dagger clattered on the ground.

Annabeth looked up at Percy, fear and confusion in her eyes. He took her in his arms and she noticed that his right hand was painfully blistered and burned. "Percy, where did you…how are you here?" Percy didn't answer her; he only held her. His body shook with exhaustion. "Percy," Annabeth said, "what's wrong? You look terrible?"

He finally looked up at her. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Kronos, the last two years, being captured…" he trailed off at her confused look. "It's like it never happened," Percy muttered, more to himself than to her. He breathed a deep sigh. "I wonder if I'm the only one who remembers."

"Percy, what's happened?"

He took her hand and led her to the boulder she had been sitting on and sat down next to her. He finally smiled. "Sorry, I'm a bit worn out, that's all. You're never going to believe what happened to me…"

- x - x - x - x - x -

Across a river in his Brooklyn mansion Amos Kane stood looking out at the Manhattan skyline. The Empire State Building stood tall and proud right it should be. Amos smiled contentedly. Khufu grunted beside him. "Yes, Khufu, he did do a fine job, didn't he?"


End file.
